It seems as if an era has ended. Christopher Tolkien, third son of J. R. R. Tolkien and heir to his literary estate, has passed away at age 95. I'm not aware if Mr. Tolkien shared the deep religious convictions of his father, but on this side of eternity, it's a sad day. For many years, Christopher Tolkien was the guiding force behind the public acceptance of his father's work, publishing nearly everything that the elder Tolkien had wished to be published but did not live long enough for, including The Silmarillion and the 12-volume The History of Middle-earth. Basically, modern Tolkien fans owe nearly everything to Christopher.

It's become a familiar talking point that he was not fond of Peter Jackson's film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, and although he stepped down as chairman of the estate a few years ago, I'm not sure he would have been too fond of the developments in Amazon's directions with its own series (I haven't heard much about it, so that's just an assumption). It remains to be seen how the IP will be handled now in the wake of his death. One can only hope that it will be sincerely respected.

The news can be found here: https://www.tor.com/2020/01/16/christopher-tolkien-architect-of-j-r-r-tolkiens-middle-earth-obituary/?fbclid=IwAR3PpVIp7Beu7Ne2QJrpVnHHKC6vi7N_GzER7dq81M2qhY9BkpQ6rmsr5CU

Some of you (the site administrator, particularly) may remember my first recommended reading choice, at least the first when I decided to make it a separate monthly series - Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, an alternate history Tolkien-Austen-Dickens hybrid about two rival magicians in the 19th century. While I have not had the pleasure of reading that story due to my own laziness (which led to a restriction I've placed on myself regarding recommending only books I've had personal experience with), it went over well with everyone, and I remember the slight disappointment of not having another books of hers to get to.

Well, as the heading of this topic indicates, the wait is over. Mrs. Clarke is finally releasing a new novel after 14 years since her last book (which was a short story collection, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories). Unfortunately, it is NOT the quasi-sequel to Strange & Norrell which she said was coming but a whole new story altogether, so it seems. The new novel, Piranesi, sounds like a surreal dreamscape, as seen from the plot description, found here:

"Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

"There is one other person in the house - a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

"For readers of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds."

It sounds like quite a read. It will be released on Sept. 15, 2020, in hardcover; I expect the paperback version to follow the next year, so you might want to wait for that, but I'll provide a link to the hardcover anyway.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Piranesi-Susanna-Clarke/dp/163557563X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=susanna+clarke&qid=1578091934&sr=8-1

FINAL NOTE: According to a message on Tor.com, it seems that Mrs. Clarke's third novel is also currently being finalized, due for a release in 2021. At this time, no other information is available on it, so stay tuned.

It's really incredible - not only have we moved into a new year but we've also reached an entirely new decade. Who knows what trends, fashions, and phenomena await the new 20's? With that being said, here are some new recommendations.

Reading: Fevre Dream (1982) by George R. R. Martin

Long before he became almost exclusively known for A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin tried his hands at other works across multiple genres. This particular work follows an aging riverboat captain who enters into an agreement with a mysterious pale young man to build the most opulent riverboat in the southern United States, made with purposes known only to the benefactor. As events unfold, the captain learns that he may have taken on a hellish bargain, but it could just turn out to benefit the whole human race. An original take on a well-known genre (which I will leave unrevealed here for spoilers' sake, though the Amazon links will make it quite obvious), Martin's novel is an intriguing, ultimately and intimately human tale that fans of his later work would be wise to check out.

Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/Fevre-Dream-George-R-Martin/dp/055357793X/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577918334&sr=8-1
Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Fevre-Dream-George-R-Martin/dp/0553383051/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577918334&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Fevre-Dream-George-R-Martin-ebook/dp/B000FC29J8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577918334&sr=8-1



Viewing: The Black Cauldron (Ted Berman and Richard Rich, 1985)

Based on the first two books of Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain, this film follows a young assistant pig-keeper who finds himself thrust into a search for a diabolical instrument - a cauldron with the power to raise the dead - which he must keep out of the hands of the lich-like Horned King, who seeks to create an army of the undead. This is one of Disney's most troublesome releases - made at a time when the company was struggling to recapture its glory days, this attempt at darker fare was a notorious commercial disappointment with a troubled production history, so much so that it was not released on home video until 1998. While it is no masterpiece, it is till an interesting chapter in Disney history and, in ways, set the stage for the Renaissance of the 90's. If you're a fan of cult classics, you may find this worth the time.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Cauldron-25th-Anniversary-Special/dp/B003RACGZM/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577919109&sr=8-5
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Cauldron-John-Huston/dp/B006RZZ80O/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577919109&sr=8-5

Well, that's all for now. Let's see what the new decade has in store for us!

Well, it's been two years since I started recommending. I don't know how much difference I've made, but for those who've stuck with me, thank you for the ride. We seem to be really caught in a dead zone right now. Anyway, it's another Christmas season, and while I've got nothing particularly festive, I hope you find these choices special in some way.

Reading: The Stand (1978) by Stephen King

King's attempt at a "Lord of the Rings with a distinctly American setting" follows a nation ravaged by the accidental outbreak of a military-engineered "superflu" which kills of 99% of the world's population and hurls civilization into chaos. The survivors come fall into two groups - one under the leadership of a saintly Christian black woman from Nebraska and another under a demonic drifter with diabolic powers, "the Dark Man." The confrontation between these two may just determine the fate of the world. The author's fourth published novel, this special mix of science fiction with elements of horror and fantasy was known for having about 400-500 pages edited out of the original manuscript upon first publication; in 1990, King was allowed to reinsert those pages back in, creating a "Complete and Uncut Edition" that remains the definitive version of what is his single longest standalone novel. It's a powerful piece of literary merit and "dark Christianity" that I would urge you to experience at least once in your life, when you have the time.

Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/Stand-Stephen-King/dp/0307743683/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1575225161&sr=8-1
Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Stand-Stephen-King/dp/0307947300/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1575225161&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Stand-Stephen-King-ebook/dp/B001C4NXKM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1575225161&sr=8-1



Viewing: Sleeping Beauty (Clyde Geronimi/Eric Larson/Wolfgang Reitherman/Les Clark, 1959)

The last of Disney's fairy tale pictures before the Renaissance of the 90s, this film, originally a box office disappointment, has gone on to be hailed as one of the crowning masterpieces of the Golden Age of Disney, with its handcrafted art style, classical score, and memorable villain seen as highlights. The story is familiar to nearly everyone: a fair princess is cursed to an enchanted sleep by a wicked fairy, only to be awakened by true love's first kiss. Despite some drawbacks in characterization that may be more apparent to modern audiences, the film remains a perennial favorite of many (including yours truly) and should be experienced by every new generation.

Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Combo: https://www.amazon.com/SLEEPING-BEAUTY-Blu-ray-Mary-Costa/dp/B07TPYX9DG/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1575226559&sr=8-1
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Beauty-Plus-Bonus-Content/dp/B07WSYCT3G/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1575226559&sr=8-1

Thank you again for following me for so long. I hope the next year will be even more successful.

Halloween has past, Thanksgiving is on the horizon, Christmas is brewing, and the year is almost over. Welcome to November! Let's dip once more into the world of science fiction for this month's choices with some landmark titles.

Reading: Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury

Perhaps Bradbury's most well-regarded work, this is the story of Guy Montag, a "fireman" whose duty is to burn books in a shallow future society dominated by viewscreens and artificiality. When he discovers what is one of the last remaining copies of the Bible, Montag is drawn into the subversive world of literature and soon finds himself an enemy of the state. A cautionary tale of the distractions of media and a decreasing interest in reading, this novel has remained constantly in print since its publication and still strikes a nerve to this day. Definitely one for the ages.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Fahrenheit-451-Ray-Bradbury/dp/1451673310/ref=tmm_pap_title_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1572720202&sr=8-1
Hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Fahrenheit-451-Ray-Bradbury/dp/1451673264/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1572720202&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Fahrenheit-451-Novel-Ray-Bradbury-ebook/dp/B0064CPN7I/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1572720202&sr=8-1



Viewing: Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)

One of the masterpieces of the silent film era by one of its greatest visionaries, this film is set in an age where a great society of towering skylines is maintained by an abused working class in the underground factories; the son of the master of the city joins forces with an idealistic young female  social worker to bridge the gap between the classes, while the master himself commissions a scientist to build a robot duplicate of the worker to quell any chance of rebellion, little suspecting that the scientist has plans to take control of the city himself. Originally met with mixed reviews, the movie has gone on to become one of the most influential science fiction films, noted for its expressionistic art style and political overtones; originally severely edited after its initial release, with much of it being deemed lost, a near intact print was discovered in Argentina in 2010 and meticulously restored, thereby giving modern audiences a near-complete vision of the original. It's a film everyone should see at least once in their lifetime.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Metropolis-Alfred-Abel/dp/B0040QYROA/ref=tmm_dvd_title_5?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1572722653&sr=8-2
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Metropolis-Blu-ray-Brigitte-Helm/dp/B0040QYROK/ref=tmm_blu_title_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1572720209&sr=8-6


I hope this keeps you all satisfied. See you next month for the two-year anniversary post!

I just found this on Tor.com. Artist Martin Vargic has recently completed a fictional map that acts as a compendium of world literature, now available in a poster form on Zazzle. For those who prefer simply viewing it on the Internet, it can be found at Halcyon Maps. I gotta say, it's quite an experiment. It's a bit crowded, but that seems to be because the artist had a lot to say. I recommend it to map and literature lovers.

The Tor article can be found here: https://www.tor.com/2019/10/23/this-wonderful-map-charts-out-the-wide-world-of-literature/

The page on Halcyon Maps is found here: https://www.halcyonmaps.com/maps#/map-of-the-literature/

If you want to buy the poster, check it out here: https://www.zazzle.com/map_of_the_literature_poster-228811969529355083

Sometimes I just love to get lost on a website and see everything it has to say. Also, I like to find other opinions on things I enjoy, some of them confirming previously held notions and others shedding a new light on them. With all that in mind I'd like to draw your attention to one of the premiere websites for talking about fantasy and science fiction, Tor.com. Now Tor is a pretty well-respected publisher of speculative fiction, but their site is more of a catch-all for every type of media, with news and updates on current events, and I seriously suggest you check it out - I've linked a few times to them in the past.

What's gotten my attention personally is their Great Reread sections, where a specific contributor or two will cover the works of a significant writer in the field over a variable amount of time (it depends on the lengths of the works). I have to admit to not reading everything very closely as of this posting, but I have everything set aside on my Favorites, and I thought I would share them here as they seem pertinent to our discussions. I love how so many of these go in depth into a work and pick it apart, some more than others - there are those works that are covered wholly in a single post and others that go chapter by chapter. I should also point out that not all of these are technically complete; some are still in progress or have even just begun, and others stop at a certain point, whether the work in question is too long or it was never the intent of the authors to cover every entry in the series. I know that many of you probably have a lot less time on your hands than I do, and I understand that, but they're always around, so if you're ever curious, here's where you can find them for future reference.

Here's what they cover up to now:

-There and Back Again...Again: The Hobbit Reread by Kate Nevpeu (https://www.tor.com/series/the-hobbit-reread/)
-The Lord of the Rings Reread by Kate Nevpeu (https://www.tor.com/series/lotr-reread/)
-The Silmarillion Primer by Jeff LaSala (https://www.tor.com/series/the-silmarillion-primer/)*
-The Harry Potter Reread by Emily Asher-Perrin (https://www.tor.com/series/the-harry-potter-reread/)**
-The Chronicles of Amber Reread by Rajan Khanna (https://www.tor.com/series/chronicles-of-amber-reread/)
-The Elric Reread by Karin L. Kross (https://www.tor.com/series/the-elric-reread-on-torcom/)
-Rereading the Vorkosigan Saga by Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer (https://www.tor.com/series/rereading-the-vorkosigan-saga/)
-The Great Stephen King Reread by Grady Hendrix (https://www.tor.com/series/the-great-stephen-king-reread/)
-The Lovecraft Reread by Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth (https://www.tor.com/series/the-lovecraft-reread/)
-Rereading Shannara by Aidan Moher (https://www.tor.com/series/rereading-shannara/)
-The Wheel of Time Reread by Leigh Butler (https://www.tor.com/series/wot-reread/)
-Magic & Good Madness: A Neil Gaiman Reread (https://www.tor.com/series/neil-gaiman-reread/)
-Advanced Reading in Dungeons & Dragons by Mordicai Knode and Tim Callahan (https://www.tor.com/series/advanced-readings-in-dungeons-dragons/)
-Travels in Fairyland: Oz Reread by Mari Ness (https://www.tor.com/series/oz-reread/)
-Travels in Fairyland: Narnia by Mari Ness (https://www.tor.com/series/travels-in-fairyland-narnia/)
-Malazan Reread of the Fallen by Bill Capossere and Amanda Rutter (https://www.tor.com/series/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen/)
-Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Reread by Kate Nevpeu (https://www.tor.com/series/jonathan-strange-mr-norrell-reread/)
-Patrick Rothfuss Reread by Jo Walton (https://www.tor.com/series/patrick-rothfuss-reread/)
-Rereading Katherine Kurtz by Judith Tarr (https://www.tor.com/series/rereading-katherine-kurtz/)
-The Temeraire Reread by Kate Nevpeu (https://www.tor.com/series/the-temeraire-reread/)
-Dragonriders of Pern Reread by Mari Ness (https://www.tor.com/series/dragonriders-of-pern-reread/)
-Disney Read-Watch by Mari Ness (https://www.tor.com/tag/disney-read-watch/)
-The Great Alan Moore Reread by Tim Callahan (https://www.tor.com/series/the-great-alan-moore-reread/)
-Rereading Frank Herbert's Dune by Emily Asher-Perrin (https://www.tor.com/series/rereading-frank-herberts-dune/)
-Rereading The Handmaid's Tale by Natalie Zutter (https://www.tor.com/series/rereading-the-handmaids-tale/)
-A Read of Ice and Fire by Leigh Butler (https://www.tor.com/features/series/a-read-of-ice-and-fire/)
-Rereading Gene Wolfe by Fabio Fernandes (https://www.tor.com/series/rereading-gene-wolfe/)
-The Great C. S. Lewis Reread by Matt Mikalatos (https://www.tor.com/series/the-great-c-s-lewis-reread/)
-The Way of Kings Reread by Michael Pye and Carle Engle-Laird (https://www.tor.com/series/the-way-of-kings-reread-on-torcom/)
-Words of Radiance Reread by Alice Arneson and Carle Engle-Laird (https://www.tor.com/series/words-of-radiance-reread-on-torcom/)
-Edgedancer Reread by Alice Arneson and Lyndsey Luther (https://www.tor.com/series/edgedancer-reread-brandon-sanderson/)
-Oathbringer Reread by Alice Arneson and Lyndsey Luther (https://www.tor.com/series/oathbringer-reread-brandon-sanderson/)
-Gideon the Ninth Reread by Liberty Hardy (https://www.tor.com/series/gideon-the-ninth-reread/)
-Ursula K. Le Guin Reread by Sean Guyles (https://www.tor.com/tag/ursula-k-le-guin-reread/)


Yeah....that's a LOT of reading. Maybe some of you have read these books, and if so, give these articles a read when you have the time - it might really be worth it to give them a second glance! For what you're unfamiliar with, you can either read the articles ahead of time to get a feel of what you want to check out or keep them on hold and read the books first, THEN come back for analysis. Either way, I hope you get a lot of fun out of this.



*As a follow-up, check out Megan N. Fontenont's The People of Middle-earth (https://www.tor.com/tag/people-of-middle-earth/) and Jeff LaSala's Deep Delvings into Middle-earth (https://www.tor.com/tag/deep-delvings-into-middle-earth/)
**Also check out Potterpalooza on Tor.com (https://www.tor.com/series/potterpalooza-on-torcom/)

NOTE: Updated to include the latest rereads

Once again, fall - and the witching season - is upon us. Therefore, I have some seasonally appropriate choices again, although I wouldn't want anyone who doesn't engage in such matters to feel left out. I thought for a bit that I might not be able to pull something up, but I reached a bit back into my past experiences and found something, so I hope you all get as much enjoyment out of it as I did.

Reading: I Am Legend (1954) by Richard Matheson

Here is one of the most well-known works by the king of scares before Stephen King took up the mantle (subsequently, Matheson would be a significant influence on King). A modernization of the vampire legend with a science fiction twist, the story of Robert Neville - a scientist left the last living man on earth after a plague reduces the remaining population into the undead - and his day-to-day survival experiences would prove to have a monumental impact on the contemporary zombie phenomenon developed more than a decade later. It's a masterpiece from one of the most talented icons of print and screen of his generation (as he was also a scribe for numerous television and film projects such as The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and Roger Corman's Poe adaptations).

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Legend-Richard-Matheson/dp/031286504X/ref=tmm_pap_title_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1569958627&sr=8-2
Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Legend-Richard-Matheson/dp/0765357151/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1569958627&sr=8-2
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Legend-Richard-Matheson-ebook/dp/B07XB49BG4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1569958627&sr=8-2



Viewing: The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961)

Based on a stage adaptation of Henry James's classic psychological ghost story The Turn of the Screw, this film follows a governess left to care for the niece and nephew of an uninterested socialite at his country manor; gradually, she comes to suspect that the spirits of two recently deceased figures close to the children are trying to possess them in order to live out their own sordid lives. A superbly crafted gothic tale with a minimal yet talented cast, it ranks among the most critically acclaimed movies of its kind, especially among film theorists. Check it out as soon as you can.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Innocents-Deborah-Kerr/dp/B00L3ZB8FW/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Innocents-Blu-ray-Deborah-Kerr/dp/B00L3ZB27Q/ref=tmm_mfc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=


I hope this will make your Halloween a special one. Until next month!

Well, everyone, I doubt we've been as dead as we are now. Seriously, practically a whole month without any real activity. Still, for tradition's sake (and, hopefully, someone's pleasure), it's once again time for the recommendations of the month. My reading has still been pretty dried up as of late, but in the spirit of turning 32 this month, and harkening back to a movie that came out a mere six days after I was born, I'm going to keep it simple and put forward something that I believe everyone should be quite familiar with.


Reading: The Princess Bride (1973) by William Goldman

Yes, it's high time we recommended William Goldman's legendary abridgement of S. Morgenstern's classic Florenian satire of high adventure and true love.....at least that's what you'll be thinking once you get into the book's clever meta-narrative. There are some minor differences to be encountered, for sure, but I'm sure that you're all familiar with the plot by now - to the point that I really don't need to do a synopsis. But Goldman is as good a novelist as he is a screenwriter, and I think you'll be pleased with the outcome, so if you want to reexperience the timeless tale of Princess Buttercup's kidnapping by three "circus performers", her "rescue" by the Dread Pirate Roberts (who never takes prisoners), and her wedding to barrel-chested Prince Humperdinck, I suggest you do so as soon as possible.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Bride-Morgensterns-Classic-Adventure/dp/0156035154/ref=tmm_pap_title_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1567568688&sr=8-2
Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Bride-Morgensterns-Classic-Adventure/dp/0156035219/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1567568688&sr=8-2
Hardcover (Illustrated): https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Bride-Illustrated-Morgensterns-Adventure/dp/0544173767/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1567568688&sr=8-5
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Bride-Morgensterns-Classic-Adventure-ebook/dp/B003IEJZRY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1567568688&sr=8-2



Viewing: The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987)

I've only matched the movie with the book once before, but I'm doing it again not just because I'm slightly at a loss for fantasy movies, but because it's fitting and.......well, what can you say about it that probably hasn't already been said? Most of you could probably recite the screenplay blindfolded, it's so ingrained in the popular consciousness. It was memetic before that even was a thing. The cast is legendary, the comedy is golden - it's everything a good movie should be. It's probably one of the very few "perfect" movies (though I will allow some disagreement). If you haven't seen it before, see it now. If you have, well, see it again! The links will be for the rather recent entry into the prestigious Criterion Collection, for those who want a special release with plenty of critical special features.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Bride-Sarandon-Savage-Wright/dp/B07FMQXZBD/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1567568688&sr=8-6
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Blu-ray-Sarandon-Savage-Wright/dp/B07FMHCMT2/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1567568688&sr=8-6
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Bride-Cary-Elwes/dp/B00945XF8Q/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+princess+bride&qid=1567568849&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Well, that was easy. Hopefully we'll be more active this month. See you next time!

August already - four more months until the end of the year! In the meantime, I'll admit that I haven't really been reading much speculative fiction lately, but I still have a couple things in mind for this month. I hope they can hold you over.

Reading: Legend (1984) by David Gemmell

The Drenai Empire suddenly finds itself under attack by the tribal Nadir people, united under an ambitious warlord, and the main entrance to the realm - the fortress of Dros Drelnoch - is critically undermanned. Still, they find themselves caught in a three-month siege, into which the fates of two men in particular are intertwined: a former berserker soldier who finds himself called to greater purposes, and an aging warrior, the greatest in the land, called out of retirement for one last glorious battle. Gemmell's debut novel remains his most popular work, a forerunner of such future grim works as those of George R. R. Martin, and spawned ten further entries, both prequels and sequels.

Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drenai-Tales-Book-1/dp/0345379063/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1564679294&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Drenai-Saga-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00513F9S4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1564679294&sr=8-1



Viewing: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

This legendary film further cemented Spielberg as one of the greatest directors of his age and a revolutionary in pop culture. While aircraft and ships long since vanished begin appearing in seemingly random places in the world, a struggling family man and a mother both experience strange flying objects which cause them to undergo subliminal messages and, in the man's case, growing obsessiveness with the incident. Meanwhile, a French scientist is trying to decipher the mystery of the encounters, and the events eventually lead to Devil's Tower, where the alien mothership makes contact with the human welcoming party, in a sequence of musical communication and spectacular special effects. It's one of Spielberg's most classic films, a hallmark of science fiction, and everyone should experience it at some point in their life.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Close-Encounters-Third-Widescreen-Collectors/dp/B00006ADD4/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1564680666&sr=8-4
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Close-Encounters-Third-Kind-Blu-ray/dp/B004HZY8OS/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1564680666&sr=8-4
4K: https://www.amazon.com/Close-Encounters-Third-Directors-Blu-ray/dp/B073LWR8XD/ref=tmm_frk_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1564680502&sr=8-5
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Close-Encounters-Third-Kind-Directors/dp/B000PNCETC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1QM8CEGM5H3AO&keywords=close+encounters+of+the+third+kind&qid=1564692557&s=gateway&sprefix=close+encounter%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1

I hope that's enough. I admit that I'm currently having a bit of a problem trying to get ideas for the series, but I should have more to work with in the future when I get back into it again. See you next month!

Well, it's July now. The summer's officially begun! I'm a few days late with this (just in time for the 4th of July), but I do actually have a few suggestions for this month. It's pure fantasy mixed with sci-fi thriller. I hope it's to most of your tastes!

Reading: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (1960) by Alan Garner

Drawing on the folklore of the author's native Alderley Edge, this novel is the story of two young children who encounter a wizard searching for an ancient jewel that protects the caves of Fundindelve - resting place of a battalion of sleeping knights waiting for a prophesied final battle - from the encroaching powers of the dark spirit Nastrond of Ragnarok. Soon they realize that the jewel has been a family heirloom for the past century, so they set out with dwarven companions to return it to its rightful place. An abiding classic, this book - regarded as children's fiction, much to the chagrin of the author - has received great acclaim from many established writers, spawning two sequels (The Moon of Gomrath and the much-belated Boneland). Definitely one to check out.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Weirdstone-Brisingamen-Alan-Garner/dp/0008248494/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1562266882&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Weirdstone-Brisingamen-Alan-Garner-ebook/dp/B00DPZN3GK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1562266882&sr=8-1



Viewing: Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993)

One of the biggest and most important blockbusters of the 1990's, Steven Spielberg's enchanting adaptation of Michael Crichton's dark thriller novel finds a couple of paleontologists called upon by an eccentric businessman to oversee the final stages of a brand new theme park on an exotic island, one where a team of scientists have managed to clone living dinosaurs; however, what was supposed to be a simple tour turns deadly when an act of sabotage unleashes the beasts from their confines, leading to a life-or-death escape attempt. A pioneer in the integration of CGI with animatronics, the film soars on its distinctive cast, excellent visuals, sentimental story, and iconic score. If you haven't seen it yet, do so now.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Jurassic-Park-Sam-Neill/dp/B07731FT68/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1562266912&sr=8-20
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Jurassic-Park-Blu-ray-Sam-Neill/dp/B07739NG1Q/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1562266912&sr=8-20
Multi-Format: https://www.amazon.com/Jurassic-Park-Blu-ray-Sam-Neill/dp/B00B4804KS/ref=tmm_mfc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1562266912&sr=8-20
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Jurassic-Park-Sam-Neill/dp/B00C1BV9Z6/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1562266912&sr=8-20

So that's all for this month. Hope you enjoy the summer!

Here's something that practically every fantasy lover should be fascinated by: SWORDS! Now, spiritually speaking, we should all probably be pacifists, but there's nothing so drawing as a good blade, and there are plenty of works available that show them off. To that point, something I'm definitely fascinated by is the replica business. I love how you can still actually buy functional/near-functional swords today, and while I have one already, I wouldn't mind starting a small collection down the road.

That being said, I'm rather at a loss where exactly to look for them - that is, where to find GOOD replicas for GOOD prices. I'm a bit skeptical of anything that sold for less than $100, but while that would essentially mean that I would be looking to spend at most about half a grand on a single sword, I would prefer to get my money's worth. Does anyone know any good, respectable places to find real quality swords?

Personally, I have a couple options in mind:

-There's always Museum Replicas (https://www.museumreplicas.com/), which dishes out some high quality stuff from good dealers like Windlass Steelcrafts; their prices, however, can be sort of steep to casual shoppers
-There's going straight to the dealer, like the aforementioned Windlass Steelcrafts (https://www.windlass.com/)

I'm not sure though if some of these other sites are giving out the same high standards or are just rip-offs. Some of them look legit, but I'd like a second opinion:

-Marto Swords Toledo (https://www.martoswordstoledo.com/)
-Replica Dungeon (https://www.replicadungeon.com/)
-Heavenly Swords (http://www.heavenlyswords.com/)
-Paul Chen Hanwei Swords (https://www.paulchenhanweiswords.com/)

And that's only with a little bit of searching. Have you found anywhere else? What are your preferred shopping grounds?

I definitely like swords from every culture and time period, but right now, my fascination is the rapier, mostly because I've been won over by The Three Musketeers. I'm not ready to spend all that money on it right now, but I'd like to find a good place that I can keep in mind. I'm looking for a really good rapier, something distinctive that really speaks to me. Any good suggestions?

It's an amazing world we live in, with the (relative) ease of publishing today, but it still has quite a few authors underrepresented. I mean. the work of small presses has been fantastic, and it's actually something that I'd generally like to do, but I still find authors whose general bibliographies are out of print, and while some of them are in the public domain and could thus be easily manufactured, the cheapness of the means of publishing means you could just as easily end up with a third-rate, poorly transcribed edition in comparison to the care an attention lavished on other titles. That's why I'm skeptical of anything that doesn't necessarily have a well-established publisher - that is, one that has credibility, not something that you can just throw together on CreateSpace. I think a book, especially a "classic" from decades ago that has been rediscovered, should get a quality release with a professional format; the cheaper it is, the less inclined I am to buy it.

As an example, take Wildside Press (http://wildsidepress.com/). This is an independent publisher that's been around since 1989 that specializes in speculative fiction but has broadened its output to several other genres; part of their goal is to keep established authors in print that would otherwise be neglected. Now I definitely intend to get several titles offered by them, but I do have some caveats. You see, when you look a little deeper at them, the presentation varies from passable to subpar - and I hate saying that because I've contacted the owner a couple times and he's been nothing but helpful. It's just that, upon close inspection, I find even those titles that I wish to purchase somewhat lacking, and that's only because I've seen several small publishers that REALLY put a lot of work into their catalog to make them the best that they can possibly be.

Take, as another example, Valancourt Books (http://www.valancourtbooks.com/). They specialize in horror and science fiction that's been unjustly out of print for years, as well as literary, gay interest, and Gothic/Victorian/Edwardian classics of yesteryear. I have several titles by them already, and while I admit to having not read all of them, I've been considerable impressed with the presentation on each one. They're only a two-man group, to my knowledge, but they put so much care and effort into each title that it feels like getting the definitive edition. Now THIS is how I would like to do things!

And then there are others that, while they may not necessarily specialize in one type of book, really put the extra mile into the ones they do have. Let me point out one of my recent purchases: Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, newly translated by swashbuckler specialist Lawrence Ellsworth and distributed by independent publisher Pegasus Books (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1643130404/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I haven't yet reached the 100-page mark yet (due to my own distraction more than the quality of the narrative), but I can tell you already that it's one of the best books I've ever gotten, and I wholeheartedly recommend it as probably the definitive edition of Dumas's classic to get, both for the vibrant translation and the professional layout, plus extra touches like the classic illustrations by Maurice Leloir and notes on the text, plus the information I've gotten through contact that Mr. Ellsworth is working on bringing out new translations of the entire Musketeer Cycle. This could have been done very cheaply, artistically speaking, but this book goes the extra mile to engage the reader at first glance. Sometimes, the cover does really make the book.

So with that being said, as an exercise in curiosity, are there any authors in particular that have fallen mostly out of print that you would like to see get a rerelease in the future? Are there any who today are mostly represented by a single work or two but have a larger corpus that deserves rediscovery? Are there any who have gotten cheap editions but you feel deserve more quality put into them?

Considering my recent talk of historical authors, I have a few of my own.

-C. S. Forester: while Horatio Hornblower remains represented, most of his other work, which I would like to pick up, has been rather ignored, outside of two or three titles, and I'd like to get the chance to try him out further

-Alexandre Dumas: surprisingly, Dumas's prolific output hasn't really reached English shores with the same dedication given to the Musketeer Cycle and The Count of Monte Cristo, which, if my own personal experience is anything to go by, is a crying shame, and I'd like to see the full Dumas get his dues

-Henryk Sienkiewicz: as far as I can tell, only Quo Vadis remains readily available in English-speaking countries, while his other significant works have been left to dry, and I don't think that's fair

-James Fenimore Cooper: similarly, only the Leatherstocking Tales are kept in wide circulation, while his other works, of which there were many, have been forgotten, despite his importance to American letters

-R. D. Blackmore: while I have very little doubt that Lorna Doone deserves to have been never out of print, the remaining works in Blackmore's oeuvre are all but a memory today, and I would like to remedy that

-Victor Hugo: he is remembered today almost solely for The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables, while not only have his other novels fallen by the wayside, but his poetry, for which he is best remembered in France, remains untranslated, and until that situation is rectified, I don't think anyone can say that they have truly experienced the full genius of Hugo

-Walter Scott: only a handful of his Waverley novels is still in print due to the efforts of such publishers as Penguin and Oxford University Press, while the rest of it, as well as his acclaimed poetry, hasn't been given the same attention, which rather does a disservice to so legendary a writer

-William Makepeace Thackeray: he was one of the greatest celebrities of his day, but now pretty much all he's remembered for is Vanity Fair, a classic but still just one book; I'd say he's due for a revival



I've also been thinking of speculative fiction, of which a LOT has fallen out of print or been given less-than-stellar treatment in my own personal opinion. While I would eventually like to point out most of them, here are just several that I find to be rather significant.

-Arkady and Boris Strugatsky: Chicago University Press has done a pretty wonderful job putting out a few of the most significant tiles my the masters of Soviet sci-fi, but a great deal of it is still neglected

-Avram Davidson: pretty much all of his short stories have been allowed to linger in limbo, with nearly all reprint collections out of print now, and while Wildside Press has been pretty fair with his novels, they don't really look like anything outstanding; Prologue Books looks more sophisticated, but they only distribute them in digital, which is a shame

-Christopher Priest: this guy's never been given the due in America that he's gotten in England; some of his most significant titles have been released over here, yes, but others remain stuck over the Atlantic

-David Lindsay: highly acclaimed by many, Lindsay's work has either been all but forgotten or given subpar treatment (the Bison Books edition of A Voyage to Arcturus, listed as the "Commemorative Edition", has a good layout but is rife with unprofessional misprints); I would like to see better

-E. E. Smith: despite being the father of space opera, Smith's corpus has pretty much been quietly swept under the rug

-E. R. Eddison: while The Worm Ouroboros isn't necessarily hard to find, his other work hasn't been given the same treatment, as least in America -- there are some rather recent editions over in the UK that I personally managed to snag copies of and would recommend in a heartbeat if not for the fact that they are UK exclusive and would thus have to be procured through secondhand sources for varying prices

-E. T. A. Hoffmann: despite being one of the most important figures in the development of fantasy, let alone the Romantic movement as a whole, only bits and pieces of his work have been translated and never in complete collections

-Ernest Bramah: his unique brand of Chinoiserie is sorely represented; Wildside Press has a couple titles of varying qualities, but he needs greater discovery

-F. Marion Crawford: he wrote several classics in the annals of fantasy and horror, but he remains pretty much forgotten by today's audiences, despite the efforts of a few

-Fritz Leiber: while a great deal of his work is available in digital format, the physical front is lacking, much to my continuing consternation

-George MacDonald: his fantasy output is quite well represented, but his realist fiction, which Raven recommends, is pretty much forgotten completely, and I don't think that's fair

-H. Rider Haggard: King Solomon's Mines and She have never been treated unfairly, but most everything else has been given short shrift; again, Wildside Press has tried on this front, but I'm not necessarily dying to pick those editions up, as I feel he could do a bit better, although I currently don't have much choice (but don't get me wrong, I greatly appreciate Wildside's efforts to keep him in circulation, though I don't do a good job of expressing it)

-H. Warner Munn: here's an author who's considered a classic by those who've known about him but has been more or less completely forgotten by everyone who cares about fantasy; he really needs greater attention, from what I can pick up

-J. Sheridan Le Fanu: bits and pieces can be found from the master of the Victorian ghost story, but from what I can find, a genuine critical collection of all his short stories remains to be seen; Leonaur Books comes the closest, but I have my reservations

-James Branch Cabell: the Mark Twain of fantasy, otherwise neglected by most everyone else today, Cabell's works have been rereleased by Wildside Press in either insignificant or uniform covers; I appreciate the effort, but if I were to split hairs, I would wish for something far more distinctive

-John Kendrick Bangs: probably the creator of an entire genre (the afterlife or "Bangsian" fantasy), I don't know if anyone remembers him now; he should at least be given a chance

-Jules Verne: here's an author who's potted translation history has continually served him to his detriment; admittedly, publishers like Indiana Wesleyan Press have tried to rectify that situation, but what I would really like to see is for someone to translate the Voyages Extraordinaires straight through under a single banner as the definitive modern editions

-Karl Edward Wagner: in spite of others' efforts, Wagner's work is pretty much limited to expensive collector's editions, when what are really needed are affordable trade/hardcover collections so everyone can experience such a highly regarded figure

-Keith Roberts: once again, Wildside Press has tried to keep his work available, but the presentation varies, which could lead to the wrong impression

-Kenneth Morris: the status of his work being out of print may be more complex than I think, due to not publishing much outside of Theosophical circles, but his fantasy work, which is now no longer in circulation (to my knowledge), is good enough for wider republication

-Lord Dunsany: a few of his novels have gotten wonderful editions, and I admit that Wildside Press has made a definite effort to make his collections stand out, but I still feel that they could use a bit more professional polish

-Manly Wade Wellman: one of the most respected pulp writers, Wellman has mostly fallen by the wayside but is hopefully showing signs of greater attention through the efforts of small publishers like Shadowridge Press; time will tell if that will lead to more releases, and if not, others must step up to do so

-Oliver Onions: aide from a single novel republished by Valancourt Books and a single much-anthologized horror story, this author is all but forgotten today, but based on that little bit, he should get a new appraisal

-Peter S. Beagle: some of his works have fallen out of print, and while new releases and revisions have been tentatively announced, they have failed to materialize, probably due to legal issues from continuing conflict with his original publisher; hopefully, this is rectified within Mr. Beagle's lifetime

-Robert E. Howard: while his major fantasy works seem to be taken care of, his vastly prolific output still remains rather neglected, waiting for someone to collect them definitively

-Sax Rohmer: Titan Press has worked on collecting the complete Fu Manchu stories, but the rest is either left behind or reprinted with varying degrees of quality by Wildside Press

-Thomas Burnett Swann: granted, the Wildside editions of Swann's work (which I believe they currently hold the rights to) look relatively better than most, but it would appear that they have inexplicably stopped releasing new titles, despite the intention to release the entirety of his bibliography

-Ward Moore: the few works published by Moore are also currently Wildside exclusives, and while they too don't look terrible, I still have my doubts

-William Morris: often considered one of the chief progenitors of the modern fantasy novel and a chief influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, Morris's romances are, again, distributed by Wildside, and while I don't have much against them (especially because I don't really have any other options), like Dunsany, first glances lead me to believe that they could do with just a bit more definitive critical presentation



I definitely listed a lot more that I intended to again. Now I gotta say, I REALLY feel bad about being so critical of Wildside Press, considering that they've been so good to me and they at least provide a service to fantasy fans who want to see these works remain in print in some format. Perhaps it's tied up with my desire to be a book publisher in some capacity myself - if I ever had the chance, I would go all out and lavish these titles with all the care in the world. I feel that dedicated readers deserve the best form of a product available. It's something to dream about, I guess.

So if you've ever thought about it, what are some neglected authors and titles that you feel deserve wider recognition?

I'll admit a bias for speculative fiction (fantasy/sci-fi/horror), but recently, I've started to get a taste for historical fiction. I guess it's always been there, considering that quite a bit of what I read can be considered historical fiction now, but until now, it's not been something I've given much thought to. How much of it do you all read? What's some of your favorite time periods to revisit? Why do you read it, if you do?

For me, I think it's connected to my interest in fantasy, in that it's a fascination with the past. I don't want to say that I have no interest in the future, but stories of the past have more resonation with me; I still like contemporary fiction, but my lifelong-ish fascination with history has been more of a driving force.

So who are some of your favorite writers of historical fiction? What are some of your favorite works? What influence does it have on your life, if any?

I'm going to step away for a bit, but when I come back, I'll give you a list of some significant writers in the genre to get the conversation going.

Well, it's certainly been a while, hasn't it? I feel that "Science Fiction Visionaries" has really done me well so far, getting me more stoked to talk about fantasy. For one thing, it's led me to be more economical with my choices: each entry now is only going to cover eight authors at a time, because that's how much I feel I can work with without overtaxing myself. In some cases, there'll be overlap between fantasy and sci-fi where I feel that the author may have made a more significant contribution to one over the other, whether intentionally or not. I hope you all feel that I'm not undercutting it.

So here is today's batch.



DAVID MITCHELL (1969- )

David Mitchell overcame the limitations of his stammer to become one of the most imaginative literary writers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, whose genre-mixing works are splashed with touches of the fantastic. His first two novels, Ghostwritten and number9dream, earned significant critical praise, finally reaching his breakthrough with Cloud Atlas, a study of the universality of human nature which consisted of interlocking stories that progress from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future. After dabbling in a bildungsroman (Black Swan Green) and historical fiction (The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet), he returned to speculation with the World Fantasy Award winning The Bone Clocks, a multi-narrative tale of psychics and immortals, and Slade House, a ghost story.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mitchell_(author))
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/mitchell_david)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Mitchell)
Tor.com – Out of Time: The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (https://www.tor.com/2014/09/03/book-review-the-bone-clocks-david-mitchell/)
Tor.com – Time Was: Slade House by David Mitchell (https://www.tor.com/2015/10/27/book-reviews-slade-house-by-david-mitchell/)
Tor.com – Upping the Stakes of the Haunted House: David Mitchell's Slade House (https://www.tor.com/2017/09/06/tbr-stack-david-mitchells-slade-house/)
The Paris Review – The Art of Fiction, No. 204: David Mitchell (https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6034/david-mitchell-the-art-of-fiction-no-204-david-mitchell)
Literary Hub – The Ever-Expanding World of David Mitchell (https://lithub.com/the-ever-expanding-world-of-david-mitchell/)
The Atlantic – David Mitchell on How to Write: "Neglect Everything Else" (https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/the-simple-profound-act-of-perceiving-the-world/380659/)
The Guardian – David Mitchell: "Ghost Stories Tap into Something Ancient and Primal" (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/12/david-mitchell-ancient-and-primal-slade-house-twitter)



ANDRZEJ SAPKOWSKI (1948- )

Born and raised in multicultural Łódź, Poland, Andrzej Sapkowski worked as a businessman in foreign trade, which allowed him access to many English speculative fiction writers. Knowing how to sell, he eventually began publishing his own stories in a series that would be called The Witcher Saga, which follows a stoic monster hunter chasing after dangerous beasts in a land of dubious morals; the series would garner a strong cult following in his homeland that would later take hold in several European countries, even inspiring a number of loosely adapted video games and screen adaptations. His work has made him one of the best-known Polish fantasy writers in the 1990s and beyond.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrzej_Sapkowski)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/sapkowski_andrzej)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/AndrzejSapkowski)



AUSTIN TAPPAN WRIGHT (1883-1931)

Austin Tappan Wright worked dutifully as a lawyer and a teacher at various universities before his death in a car accident. What no one knew until afterwards is that he had secretly been working on an extensive piece of Utopian fiction about an imaginary country that extended about 2,300 pages, including appendices of languages, population, and other material; another book-length manuscript was purported to contain a history of the country. His widow and later his daughter edited the manuscripts for publication, after which Islandia was first released in 1942, becoming a cult classic and spawning three sequels under author Mark Saxton.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Tappan_Wright)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/wright_austin_tappan)
San Jose University – Austin Tappan Wright: The Man Who Envisioned Islandia ( http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda/wright.html)
The New Yorker – The Forgotten Novel That Inspired Homesickness for an Imaginary Land (https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/the-forgotten-novel-that-inspired-homesickness-for-an-imaginary-land)
The Modern Novel – Austin Tappan Wright: Islandia (https://www.themodernnovel.org/americas/other-americas/usa/austin-tappan-wright/islandia/)



GLEN COOK (1944- )

After a time in both the U.S. Navy and college, Glen Cook began writing while employed at a General Motors assembly plant, eventually becoming quite prolific, turning out about three books a year. His most noteworthy series is probably The Black Company, one of the first really successful "grimdark" fantasy works, following a band of mercenaries over the course of several decades of his century-spanning history; other popular series include Garrett, P.I., which follows a detective living in a world that coexists with magic, and The Dread Empire.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Cook)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=cook_glen)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cook_glen)
Glen Cook Fan Site (http://glen-cook-fan-site.blogspot.com/)
The SF Site – The Instrumentalities of the Night: An Interview with Glen Cook (https://www.sfsite.com/10a/gc209.htm)
Black Gate – VIVE LE COMPAGNIE!: In Conclusion, The Black Company Series by Glen Cook (https://www.blackgate.com/2018/09/18/vive-la-compagnie-in-conclusion-the-black-company-series-by-glen-cook/)
Tor.com – Glen Cook's The Black Company Is Grimdark, but Never Hopeless (https://www.tor.com/2018/12/17/glen-cooks-the-black-company-is-grimdark-but-never-hopeless/)
Tor.com – The Black Company Reread (https://www.tor.com/tag/the-black-company-reread/)



FRANÇOIS RABELAIS (c. 1483/1494-1553)

François Rabelais was one of the most eminent figures of the French Renaissance, an avid reader and Christian humanist who served as both a monk in the Franciscan and later Benedictine orders and a doctor by trade. He is known in the world of literature for his towering achievement in satire, Gargantua and Pantagruel, a five-volume tale of bawdiness and excessiveness following the life of two giants – a father and son; filled with scatological and vulgar crudities as well as puns and double entendres, it was frowned upon by the censors and the church of the day, but its posterity, having added much to the French language, was noted by many subsequent authors, and Rabelais is now considered one the greatest writers in world literature, his name having become descriptive of extravagant and irreverent themes.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/François_Rabelais)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=rabelais_francois)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/rabelais_francois)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francois-Rabelais)
Notable Names Database (http://www.nndb.com/people/511/000045376/)
New World Encyclopedia (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/François_Rabelais)



CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE (1979- )

A fairly recent author, Bethany Thomas, known under the pen name Catherynne M. "Cat" Valente, has been nominated for (and won several of) almost every major award in fantasy and science fiction for her unique blend of folklore and postmodernism which she jolkingly refers to as "mythpunk." Her novel The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, the first in the Fairyland sequence, was the first online, crowdfunded novel to win a major literary award; other works of note include The Labyrinth, Yume no Hon: The Book of Dreams, The Grass-Cutting Sword, Palimpsest, Deathless, Radiance, The Glass Town Game, and Space Opera, as well as series like The Orphan's Tales and A Dirge for Prester John.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherynne_M._Valente)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/valente_catherynne_m)
Official website (http://www.catherynnemvalente.com/)
Terrible Minds – Catherynne M. Valente: Five Things I Learned Writing Space Opera (http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2018/04/12/catherynne-m-valente-five-things-i-learned-writing-space-opera/)
Vox.com – Catherynne M. Valente on Comic Book Feminism and Taking the Brontës to Narnia (https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/6/5/15693842/catherynne-valente-interview-refrigerator-monologues-glass-town-game)
Tor.com – Hugo Review: Catherynne M. Valente's Palimpsest (https://www.tor.com/2010/06/30/hugo-review-catherynne-m-valentes-palimpsest/)
Tor.com – The Melancholy of Mechagirl by Catherynne M. Valente (https://www.tor.com/2013/07/08/book-review-the-melancholy-of-mechagirl-by-catherynne-m-valente/)
Tor.com – The Light Fantastic: Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente (https://www.tor.com/2016/03/03/the-light-fantastic-radiance-by-catherynne-m-valente/)
Tor.com – Glam/Heart: Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente (https://www.tor.com/2018/04/10/book-reviews-space-opera-by-catherynne-m-valente/)
Tor.com – A Game of And: The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente (https://www.tor.com/2017/09/08/book-reviews-the-glass-town-game-by-catherynne-m-valente/)
Tor.com – One Day You Wake Up and You Are Grown: CAtherynne Valente's Fairyland and the Secrets of Growing Up (https://www.tor.com/2016/03/02/one-day-you-wake-up-and-you-are-grown-catherynne-valentes-fairyland-and-the-secrets-of-growing-up/)
Tor.com – Deathless Mixes Myth and History, and May Very Well Break Your Heart (https://www.tor.com/2017/04/14/deathless-mixes-myth-and-history-and-may-very-well-break-your-heart/)



JONATHAN SWIFT (1667-1745)

One of the chief intellectuals of his time, Jonathan Swift is regarded by many as the greatest satirist in the English language of both the Horatian and Juvenalian styles, whose sharp rebukes of society were cloaked in deadpan irony and often outrageous humor. His masterpiece, Gulliver's Travels, a parody of the popular travel narrative in the vein of Daniel Defoe, recounts the increasingly bitter adventures of an English surgeon among fantastic lands filled with tiny people, giants, a floating island, and intelligent horses; its scathing critiques are often lost on today's society due to its misappropriation as a children's novel.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=swift_jonathan)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/swift_jonathan)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jonathan-Swift)
Poetry Foundation: Jonathan Swift (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jonathan-swift)
University of Oxford: Great Writers Inspire – Jonathan Swift and "Gulliver's Travels" (https://writersinspire.org/content/jonathan-swift-gullivers-travels)
New World Encyclopedia (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jonathan_Swift)
Trinity College Dublin: Jonathan Swift (https://www.tcd.ie/trinitywriters/writers/jonathan-swift/)



KARL EDWARD WAGNER (1945-1994)

Although he originally trained as a psychiatrist, Karl Edward Wagner would ultimately become known for his work in the field of speculative fiction, both as a writer in his own right and as a respected editor. A fan of Robert E. Howard and sword-and-sorcery stories, he was one of the first to collect Howard's stories in their original unaltered form; he also collected some of the most important works from fellow writers Hugh B. Cave and Manly Wade Wellman and published them through his own co-founded independent press, Carcosa. In addition to several well-received horror stories which were collected in In a Lonely Place and Why Not You and I?, his most notable work is probably the series of dark fantasy novels and stories centered around an immortal wandering swordsman named Kane, famed for his intelligence as much as his brutality, consisting of Darkness Weaves, Death Angel's Shadow, Bloodstone, Dark Crusade, Night Winds, and The Book of Kane. His work was cut short by his early death attributed to long-term alcoholism.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Edward_Wagner)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=wagner_karl_edward)
East of Eden: The Official Karl Edward Wagner Website (http://www.karledwardwagner.org/)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/KarlEdwardWagner)
The British Fantasy Society – Karl Edward Wagner: An Interview for Dark Troubadour (http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/reviews/karl-edward-wagner-an-interview-for-dark-troubadour/)
Black Gate – Death Angel's Shadow by Karl Edward Wagner (https://www.blackgate.com/2015/06/23/death-angels-shadow-by-karl-edward-wagner/)
Black Gate – Bloody Battles, Espionage, Dark and Beautiful Prose, & Lovecraftian Horror: A Review of Karl Edward Wagner's Dark Crusade (https://www.blackgate.com/2014/08/21/bloody-battles-espionage-dark-and-beautiful-prose-lovecraftian-horror-a-review-of-karl-edward-wagners-dark-crusade/)
Black Gate – Seductive Sorceress Queens, Decadent Civilizations, and Moon-lit Brawls: A Review of Bloodstone by Karl Edward Wagner (https://www.blackgate.com/2013/12/12/seductive-sorceress-queens-decadent-civilizations-and-moon-lit-brawls-a-review-of-bloodstone-by-karl-edward-wagner/)
Black Gate – Night Winds by Karl Edward Wagner (https://www.blackgate.com/2013/09/17/night-winds-by-karl-edward-wagner/)
Black Gate – In a Lonely Place: The Weird Horror of Karl Edward Wagner (https://www.blackgate.com/2012/01/09/in-a-lonely-place-the-weird-horror-of-karl-edward-wagner/)
Black Gate – The Weird Horror of Karl Edward Wagner, Part 2: Why Not You and I? (https://www.blackgate.com/2012/05/29/the-weird-horror-of-karl-edward-wagner-part-2-why-not-you-and-i/)
Black Gate – Enjoying the Unique Character of Karl Edward Wagner's Dark Crusade (https://www.blackgate.com/2011/12/08/enjoying-the-unique-character-of-karl-edward-wagner's-dark-crusade/)



And that's done with now. If you could, leave any comments or discussions below and follow the forum topic here: http://www.lostpathway.com/index.php/topic,16.0.html#forum

Here's the last list I have of this kind that relates to speculative fiction in general. As you can gather from the title, it's a follow-up by the authors of the original list, once more arranged by order of publication. Some titles may come as a surprise, but in general, everything has at least some form of dread about them, I would think. It also goes a bit further into the modern era, which is a bonus in itself.


1.   The Revenger's Tragedy (1607) by Cyril Tourneur
2.   The Queen of Spades (1834) by Aleksandr Pushkin
3.   A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens
4.   Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë
5.   The Manuscript Found in Saragossa (1847) by Jan, Count Potocki
6.   New Grub Street (1891) by George Gissing
7.   The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) by Oscar Wilde
8.   The War of the Worlds (1898) by H. G. Wells
9.   The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
10.   The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" (1907) by William Hope Hodgson
11.   The Phantom of the Opera (1911) by Gaston Leroux
12.   Fantômas (1911) by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
13.   The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (1927-28) by H. P. Lovecraft
14.   They Return at Evening (1928) by H. Russell Wakefield
15.   Creep, Shadow! (1934) by A. Merritt
16.   The Trail of Fu Manchu (1934) by Sax Rohmer
17.   The Devil Rides Out (1934) by Dennis Wheatley
18.   The Haunted Omnibus (1937) edited by Alexander Laing
19.   The Edge of Running Water (1939) by William Sloane
20.   The Stranger (1942) by Albert Camus
21.   Sleep No More: Twenty Masterpieces of Horror for the Connoisseur (1944) edited by August Derleth
22.   Lost Worlds (1944) by Clark Ashton Smith
23.   Jumbee and Other Uncanny Tales (1944) by Henry S. Whitehead
24.   Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (1944) edited by Herbert A. Wise and Phyllis Fraser
25.   The Opener of the Way (1945) by Robert Bloch
26.   Gormenghast (1946-50) by Mervyn Peake
27.   Carnacki the Ghost-Finder (1947) by William Hope Hodgson
28.   Darker Than You Think (1948) by Jack Williamson
29.   Tales of Horror and the Supernatural (1949) by Arthur Machen
30.   Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell
31.   House of Flesh (1950) by Bruno Fischer
32.   Fancies and Goodnights (1951) by John Collier
33.   The Killer Inside Me (1952) by Jim Thompson
34.   The Third Ghost Book (1955) edited by Lady Cynthia Asquith
35.   The Body Snatchers (1955) by Jack Finney
36.   The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955) by Patricia Highsmith
37.   The Hunger and Other Stories (1957) by Charles Beaumont
38.   The Blind Owl (1957) by Sadegh Hedayat
39.   The Midwich Cuckoos (1957) by John Wyndham
40.   A Scent of New-Mown Hay (1958) by John Blackburn
41.   A Stir of Echoes (1958) by Richard Matheson
42.   The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (1960) by Alan Garner
43.   Tales of Terror (1961) edited by Charles Higham
44.   Some of Your Blood (1961) by Theodore Sturgeon
45.   We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) by Shirley Jackson
46.   The Case Against Satan (1962) by Ray Russell
47.   Something Wicked This Way Comes (1963) by Ray Bradbury
48.   The Collector (1963) by John Fowles
49.   Who Fears the Devil? (1963) by Manly Wade Wellman
50.   A Wrinkle in the Skin (1965) by John Christopher
51.   Rosemary's Baby (1967) by Ira Levin
52.   The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural (1967) edited by the Editors of Playboy
53.   Pages from Cold Point (1968) by Paul Bowles
54.   Outer Dark (1968) by Cormac McCarthy
55.   The Book of Skulls (1971) by Robert Silverberg
56.   Harvest Home (1973) by Thomas Tryon
57.   The Night Stalker (1973) by Jeff Rice
58.   Blood Sport (1974) by Robert F. Jones
59.   Nightshade (1975) by Derek Marlowe
60.   Peace (1975) by Gene Wolfe
61.   The Year of the Sex Olympics: Three TV Plays (1976) by Nigel Kneale
62.   Our Lady of Darkness (1977) by Fritz Leiber
63.   The Cement Garden (1978) by Ian McEwan
64.   Darkness Weaves with Many Shades (1978) by Karl Edward Wagner
65.   The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (1979) by Angela Carter
66.   Sweeney Todd (1979) by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler
67.   The Collected Stories of Elizabeth Bowen (1980) by Elizabeth Bowen
68.   Dark Forces: New Stories of Suspense and Supernatural Horror (1980) edited by Kirby McCauley
69.   Tales from the Nightside (1981) by Charles L. Grant
70.   They Thirst (1981) by Robert R. McCammon
71.   The Face That Must Die (1983) by Ramsey Campbell
72.   The Woman in Black (1983) by Susan Hill
73.   Pet Sematary (1983) by Stephen King
74.   Clive Barker's Books of Blood Volumes One, Two, and Three (1984) by Clive Barker
75.   Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (1986) by Patrick Süskind
76.   Finishing Touches (1986) by Thomas Tessier
77.   Strange Toys (1987) by Patricia Geary
78.   The Dark Decent (1987) edited by David G. Hartwell
79.   Misery (1987) by Stephen King
80.   The Silence of the Lambs (1988) by Thomas Harris
81.   Prime Evil (1988) edited by Douglas E. Winter
82.   By Bizarre Hands: Stories (1989) by Joe R. Lansdale
83.   The Grotesque (1989) by Patrick McGrath
84.   Carrion Comfort (1989) by Dan Simmons
85.   From Hell (1989-99) by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
86.   American Psycho (1991) by Bret Easton Ellis
87.   Lost Souls (1992) by Poppy Z. Brite
88.   The Course of the Heart (1992) by M. John Harrison
89.   Flicker (1992) by Theodore Roszak
90.   X, Y (1993) by Michael Blumlein
91.   Skin (1993) by Kathe Koja
92.   Throat Sprockets: A Novel of Erotic Obsession (1994) by Tim Lucas
93.   The Off Season: A Victorian Sequel (1995) by Jack Cady
94.   The Nightmare Factory (1996) by Thomas Ligotti
95.   A Sight for Sore Eyes (1998) by Ruth Rendell
96.   Reprisal (1999) by Mitchell Smith
97.   A Haunting Beauty (2000) by Sir Charles Birkin
98.   House of Leaves (2000) by Mark Z. Danielewski
99.   Feesters in the Lake & Other Stories (2002) by Bob Leman
100.   More Tomorrow & Other Stories (2003) by Michael Marshall Smith


So that's everything - at least what's been collected into book form. I have more lists, but they're not really fantasy-oriented; it's more along the lines of "the 100 best books ever written", but if anyone's interested, I'll gladly share those too. In the meantime, what's your opinion about this list? Is it any better than the original? How many books off of it have you read or shown interest in reading? How many have you never heard of?

With today's set of authors, we see how science fiction matured as the Golden Age wound down. Leaps and bounds were made in subject matter not usually tackled in traditional stories via the "New Wave", and there was a deliberate effort on the part of some to take a more literary approach to the genre. The result was the penning of perennial classics that gained a life even in mainstream fiction. Here are just a few of them.



HAL CLEMENT (1922-2003)

Harry Clement Stubbs, better known to fans as Hal Clement, was one of the leading writers of hard science fiction, striving for technical accuracy in his works, as close to known science as possible. The result was a body of work unique in its rigorous construction, the best known being the novel Mission of Gravity, set on the planet Mesklin where the gravity reaches up to 700 times that of the Earth, recounting a native expedition to retrieve a human scientific probe from the dangerous polar regions. Much beloved by science fiction fans as a demonstration in worldbuilding, the novel would receive a sequel in Star Light and further extrapolation in the stories "Under" and "Lecture Demonstration."

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Clement)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/clement_hal)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hal-Clement)
The Independent – Obituary of Hal Clement (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/hal-clement-37380.html)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/HalClement)
Tor.com – Creator of Worlds: Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement (https://www.tor.com/2018/02/15/creator-of-worlds-mission-of-gravity-by-hal-clement/)
Black Gate – Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement (https://www.blackgate.com/2017/03/28/mission-of-gravity-by-hal-clement/)



FRANK HERBERT (1920-1986)

Born to a poor home environment, Frank Herbert pursued newspaper journalism and photography primarily while writing for the pulps in the mid-1940's through the 1950's, earning notice as a novelist for The Dragon in the Sea, a tale of 21st-century submarine warfare. By 1965, however, he had written what would be an indisputable landmark in science fiction: Dune, a work of epic scope and complexity concerned with human evolution, ecology, religion, and politics, set on the arid desert planet of Arrakis, where a ducal heir, deposed by a rival noble house, integrates himself into the native culture and finds himself becoming a messianic superman destined to bring jihad to the galaxy. It has been cited as the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, an ur-text of literary worldbuilding, and a key text in the softer sciences; while not an immediate bestseller, it co-won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1966 as well as the inaugural equivalent Nebula Award. Other notable novels would follow, such as The Green Brain, The Santaroga Barrier, The White Plague, and Hellstrom's Hive, as well as five Dune sequels, although none would reach the critical acclaim of the original.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/herbert_frank)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frank-Herbert)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/FrankHerbert)
O'Reilly – Study of Frank Herbert (https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/)
The New Yorker – "Dune" Endures (https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/dune-endures)
The Guardian – Dune, 50 Years On: How a Science Fiction Novel Changed the World (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world)
Tor.com – In League with the Future: Frank Herbert's Dune (https://www.tor.com/2011/01/12/in-league-with-the-future-frank-herberts-dune/)
Tor.com – Rereading Frank Herbert's Dune (https://www.tor.com/series/rereading-frank-herberts-dune/)
Black Gate – Dune by Frank Herbert (https://www.blackgate.com/2017/08/01/dune-by-frank-herbert/)



PHILIP K. DICK (1928-1982)

There are few authors that are more influential in speculative fiction than Philip K. Dick, whose oeuvre covered philosophical and metaphysical themes mixed with recurring motifs of paranoia, the illusion of reality, corporate domination, and altered states of consciousness. His original stories found little success until 1962, with the publication of The Man in the High Castle, an alternate history in which the Axis won WWII and a search is undertaken for a man who has written a book in which the Allies have won; the metafictional classic won the Hugo Award in 1963 and kicked off a creative period which produced other renown titles such as Martian Time-Slip, The Simulacra, The Penultimate Truth, Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We All Got Along After the Bomb, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Now Wait for Last Year, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ubik, A Maze of Death, and Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. By 1974, due to perceived paranormal experiences and strange hallucinations, his metaphysical interests increased, leading to further works such as  A Scanner Darkly, VALIS, and The Divine Invasion; by 1982, he passed away due to a series of strokes, leaving his last novel, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, to be posthumously published.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/dick_philip_k)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-K-Dick)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/PhilipKDick)
The New York Times – Obituary of Philip K. Dick (https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/03/obituaries/philip-k-dick-won-awards-for-science-fiction-works.html)
The New York Times – Philip K. Dick: Sci-Fi Philosopher, Part 1 (https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/philip-k-dick-sci-fi-philosopher-part-1/?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FDick%2C%20Philip%20K.&mtrref=www.nytimes.com)
The New York Times – Philip K. Dick: Sci-Fi Philosopher, Part 2 (https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/philip-k-dick-sci-fi-philosopher-part-2/?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FDick%2C%20Philip%20K.&mtrref=www.nytimes.com)
The New York Times – Philip K. Dick: Sci-Fi Philosopher, Part 3 (https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/philip-k-dick-sci-fi-philosopher-part-3/?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FDick%2C%20Philip%20K.&mtrref=www.nytimes.com)
Science Fiction Studies – Philip K. Dick: A Visionary Among the Charlatans (https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/5/lem5art.htm)
The New Yorker – Blows Against the Empire: The Return of Philip K. Dick (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/08/20/blows-against-the-empire)
The Irish Times – Just Because You're Paranoid...: Philip K. Dick's Troubled Life (https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/just-because-you-re-paranoid-philip-k-dick-s-troubled-life-1.3243976)
Tor.com – The One Book That's Tattooed on Both My Arms (https://www.tor.com/2017/05/15/the-one-book-thats-tattooed-on-both-my-arms/)
Tor.com – An Alternate History Primer: The Man in the High Castle (https://www.tor.com/2015/11/18/the-man-in-the-high-castle-primer-philip-k-dick/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 12: Philip K. Dick and Sydney Brenner (https://www.tor.com/2019/06/20/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-12-philip-k-dick-and-sydney-brenner/)



STANISŁAW LEM (1921-2006)

Despite having a low opinion of American science fiction and subsequently coming under attack from the SFWA, Stanisław Lem remains one of the most highly esteemed science fiction writers, whose work, given the opportunity to flourish after the de-Stalinization of his native Poland, addressed such complex issues as communication between species, the future of technology, and human significance. Some of his top-rated works include novels such as Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, Return from the Stars, The Invincible, His Master's Voice, The Futurological Congress, and Fiasco; he also wrote significant short story collections like The Star Diaries (which introduced recurring character Ijon Tichy), The Invasion from Aldebaran, The Cyberiad, and Tales of Pirx the Pilot. His best known work is the novel Solaris, in which a team of scientists attempt to communicate with the sentient ocean of an alien world and subsequently face psychological trauma; part of its renown comes both from being adapted into film three times and from being inaccurately translated (in Lem's opinion) into English from a French translation of the original Polish.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanisław_Lem)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/lem_stanislaw)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stanislaw-Lem)
Official website (https://lem.pl/)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/StanislawLem)
The Independent – Obituary of Stanisław Lem (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/stanislaw-lem-6105099.html)
The New Yorker – The Beautiful Mind-Bending of Stanisław Lem (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-beautiful-mind-bending-of-stanislaw-lem)
The Guardian – Obituary of Stanisław Lem (https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/apr/08/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries)
The Paris Review – The Future According to Stanisław Lem (https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/09/12/the-future-according-to-stanislaw-lem/)
The Village Voice – On Both Page and Screen, Polish Master Stanisław Lem Makes You Question Reality (https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/11/04/on-both-page-and-screen-polish-master-stanislaw-lem-makes-you-question-reality/)



J. G. BALLARD (1930-2009)

James Graham Ballard was once held with his parents in a Japanese internment camp in Shanghai during WWII, which profoundly affected his outlook and would be immortalized in his semi-autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun. After the end of the war, upon returning to England, he would later abandon his medical studies to commit to writing, which tended toward the avant-garde; novels such as The Drowned World, The Burning World (retitled The Drought), and The Crystal World would lead critics to position him as one of the leading voices of sci-fi's New Wave, while experimental fix-ups like The Atrocity Exhibition represented his more transgressive side. Further surrealistic stories include Crash, Concrete Island, High Rise, The Unlimited Dream Company, and The Day of Creation, giving rise to the term "Ballardian" to describe bleak dystopic landscapes and the psychological effects of social, technological, and environmental stimuli.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._G._Ballard)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=ballard_j_g)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/ballard_j_g)
The New Yorker – J. G. Ballard by Macy Halford (https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/j-g-ballard)
The Paris Review – The Art of Fiction, No. 85: J. G. Ballard (https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2929/j-g-ballard-the-art-of-fiction-no-85-j-g-ballard)
CityJournal.org – The Marriage of Reason and Nightmare (https://www.city-journal.org/html/marriage-reason-and-nightmare-13076.html)
British Council: Literature – J. G. Ballard (https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/j-g-ballard)
The Times – Obituary of J. G. Ballard (https://web.archive.org/web/20121014094835/http://announcements.thetimes.co.uk/obituaries/timesonline-uk/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=126412054)
The Independent – Obituary of J. G. Ballard (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jg-ballard-writer-whose-dystopian-visions-helped-shape-our-view-of-the-modern-world-1671634.html)
The New York Times – Obituary of J. G. Ballard (https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/books/21ballard.html)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 11: J. G. Ballard and the Birth of Biotech (https://www.tor.com/2019/05/09/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-11-j-g-ballard-and-the-birth-of-biotech/)



POUL ANDERSON (1926-2001)

Poul Anderson was praised as one of the best storytellers in science fiction, whose works were filled with grand yet introspective characters, adherence to personal liberty, and a firm grounding in plausible science, perhaps informed by his specialization in physics. His overarching Psychotechnic League and Technic History series depict a vast space opera with dashing intelligence agents and adventurous businessmen who operate in morally grey areas; outstanding single novels include award winners and classics such as Brain Wave, The Enemy Stars, The High Crusade, The Corridors of Time, The Star Fox, Tau Zero, There Will Be Time, Fire Time, The Avatar, The Boat of a Million Years, and Genesis. Winner of seven Hugos and three Nebulas, among others, he served as the sixth President of the SFWA beginning in 1972 and became the sixteenth Grand Master in 1998.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poul_Anderson)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=anderson_poul)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/anderson_poul)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Poul-Anderson)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/PoulAnderson)
The Guardian – Obituary of Poul Anderson (https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/aug/04/guardianobituaries.books)
The Independent – Obituary of Poul Anderson (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/poul-anderson-9146094.html)
Tor.com – What Is Living For?: Poul Anderson's The Corridors of Time (https://www.tor.com/2012/05/11/what-is-living-for-poul-andersons-the-corridors-of-time/)
Tor.com – Really Good Fun: Poul Anderson's The High Crusade (https://www.tor.com/2010/09/07/really-good-fun-poul-andersons-lemgthe-high-crusadelemg/)
Tor.com – Myths of the Spaceways: Poul Anderson's Worlds Without Stars (https://www.tor.com/2012/07/24/myths-of-the-spaceways-poul-andersons-world-without-stars/)
Tor.com – Oops, Wrong Spacedrive! Poul Anderson's The Long Way Home (https://www.tor.com/2012/10/05/oops-wrong-spacedrive-poul-andersons-the-long-way-home/)
Tor.com – Hornblower in Space: Flandry of Terra by Poul Anderson (https://www.tor.com/2016/11/04/hornblower-in-space-flandry-of-terra-by-poul-anderson/)
Tor.com – Air War in the Stone Age: Poul Anderson's The Man Who Counts (https://www.tor.com/2010/11/22/air-war-in-the-stone-age-poul-andersons-the-man-who-counts/)
Tor.com – Worldbuilding and the Promise of SF: The Enemy Stars by Poul Anderson (https://www.tor.com/2017/10/10/worldbuilding-and-the-promise-of-sf-the-enemy-stars-by-poul-anderson/)
Black Gate – Trader to the Stars by Poul Anderson (https://www.blackgate.com/2017/05/02/trader-to-the-stars-by-poul-anderson/)
Black Gate – "On Thud and Blunder": Thirty Years Later (https://www.blackgate.com/2008/12/05/on-thud-and-blunder-thirty-years-later/)
Black Gate – From Poul Anderson's Vault of the Ages to the End of All Things (https://www.blackgate.com/2015/02/18/from-poul-andersons-vault-of-the-ages-to-the-end-of-all-things/)



JOE HALDEMAN (1943- )

Immediate after completing his education, Joe Haldeman was drafted into the Vietnam War, where he served as a combat engineer until wounded, after which he received a Purple Heart. This episode of his life would inform much of his fiction, particular his best-known work, the Hugo and Nebula winning novel The Forever War, a seminal military sci-fi tale in which  soldiers are sent across great gaps of space to other worlds during an interstellar war but find themselves increasingly isolated from civilization due to time dilation made during space jumps. Further works include Mindbridge, All My Sins Remembered, The Hemingway Hoax, The Coming, Camouflage, and The Accidental Time Machine, as well as two follow-ups to his legendary second novel – the loosely related Forever Peace and the direct sequel Forever Free. A jack-of-all-trades in his own words, Haldeman was selected as the SFWA's 27th Grand Master in 2009 and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2012.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Haldeman)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/haldeman_joe)
Official website (http://www.joehaldeman.com/)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/JoeHaldeman)
The Guardian – Back to the Hugos: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/apr/14/back-to-the-hugos-joe-haldeman)
Tor.com – Relativity, Sociology, and a Sweet Love Story: Joe Haldeman's The Forever War (https://www.tor.com/2011/02/03/relativity-sociology-and-a-sweet-love-story-joe-haldemans-the-forever-war/)
Tor.com – Future Shock: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (https://www.tor.com/2012/01/17/future-shock-the-forever-war-by-joe-haldeman/)
Tor.com – Talkin' 'Bout My Generation: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (https://www.tor.com/2017/05/01/talkin-bout-my-generation-the-forever-war-by-joe-haldeman/)
Tor.com – The Profound Emptiness of Battle: The Forever War (https://www.tor.com/2016/01/20/the-profound-emptiness-of-battle-the-forever-war/)



KURT VONNEGUT (1922-2007)

One of the most respected figures in American letters is Kurt Vonnegut, whose blackly comic works, told in a deadpan, idiosyncratic style, provided an engaging mirror of the nation's foibles; his novels and short stories have remained in print constantly and are warmly praised in the mainstream. Despite his ambivalence about it, most of his early works and some of the later use science fiction motifs and are considered by many to be genuine classics in the genre, encompassing themes like class warfare in the midst of rampant automation (Player Piano), free will and human purpose (The Sirens of Titan), nuclear catastrophe (Cat's Cradle), and evolutionary intelligence (Galápagos). His breakthrough work and most famous novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, is an anti-war satire inspired by the firebombing of Dresden (in which Vonnegut took part in), where an American soldier becomes "unstuck" in time and begins living his life in a non-linear fashion, eventually making the acquaintance of a bizarre race of aliens who will eventually be responsible for the death of the universe. In the years since his death, Vonnegut remains a much beloved figure by readers and writers across all spectrums.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/vonnegut_kurt_jr)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kurt-Vonnegut)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/KurtVonnegut)
The Paris Review – The Art of Fiction, No. 64: Kurt Vonnegut (https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3605/kurt-vonnegut-the-art-of-fiction-no-64-kurt-vonnegut)
The New York Time – The Moral Clarity of "Slaughterhouse-Five" at 50 (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/books/review/kevin-powers-kurt-vonnegut-slaughterhouse-five.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FVonnegut%2C%20Kurt)
The New York Times – From Dresden on the 50th Anniversary of "Slaughterhouse-Five" (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/books/kurt-vonnegut-dresden-anniversary.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FVonnegut%2C%20Kurt)
Tor.com – Genre in the Mainstream: The Kurt Vonnegut Question (https://www.tor.com/2011/05/31/genre-in-the-mainstream-the-kurt-vonnegut-question/)
Tor.com – Labeling Kurt Vonnegut: From Science Fiction Writer to Pornographer (https://www.tor.com/2013/09/27/banned-books-week-vonnegut-slaughterhouse-five/)
Tor.com – The One Book That Changed Everything (https://www.tor.com/2017/02/09/the-one-book-that-changed-everything/)



Those are some really important names, to be sure, but there are others as well, so next time, we'll be filling in some of the blanks. In the meantime, leave any thoughts or comments if you have them and check out the forum post found here: http://www.lostpathway.com/index.php/topic,221.0.html#forum

There's an article up at Christ and Pop Culture that was posted recently about the importance of fiction in our world. I thought you all might find it interesting.

https://christandpopculture.com/dont-disparage-fiction/

Once again, we're halfway through the year now (or at least we will be once the month ends). I've been thinking for some time about what I'm going to recommend, and while I hade an idea originally, it was connected to my original reading list, and that didn't go as planned. Considering that by this point I've tried to establish a base for science fiction, I thought I might go that route, though I'll also add some fantasy for good measure.


Reading: Dune (1965) by Frank Herbert

Hailed by many as the greatest science fiction novel ever written (a lofty claim), this Hugo-winning novel is an epic of worldbuilding and interplanetary politics told with overtones of traditional fantasy, made with the subtle intent of subverting the monomyth. Paul Atreides, heir to the Duchy of Caladan, finds himself thrust into hostile territory when the imperial Padishah Emperor grants his family an important fief of jurisdiction: the arid desert planet Arrakis, colloquially known as Dune, sole source in the universe of the addictive spice mélange upon which commerce and economy are based. When they find themselves betrayed and nearly exterminated by their eternal rivals, the brutal Harkonnens, Paul and his mother seek refuge amongst the mysterious native Fremen people, where he begins to discover that he may be both a genetic superman made from years of selective breeding and the Fremen's fabled messiah destined to usher in a universal jihad. A masterpiece of soft sci-fi, it's the best-selling novel in the genre and a must-read for storytellers.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Dune-Chronicles-Book-1/dp/0441013597/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559353300&sr=1-1
Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/Dune-Frank-Herbert/dp/0441172717/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559353300&sr=1-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Dune-Frank-Herbert-ebook/dp/B00B7NPRY8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559353300&sr=1-1



Viewing: The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)

A perennial film school/arthouse favorite, this is the story of a stalwart knight and his cynical squire who return to Sweden from the Crusades in the midst of the Black Death. As the knight begins to question his faith and search for meaning in life, he encounters Death himself, whom he challenges to a chess game in order to prolong his life and find his answers. During the trek to the knight's castle, he and his squire encounter many walks of life, all of whom have found some purpose amidst the carnage, which leads to the knight wishing to make one meaningful deed before the end. This film, expertly and artistically shot, brought the director international fame and is even listed among the Vatican's 1995 list of 45 significant films contributing to religion, values, and art. A treasure for any era, it warrants much discussion to this day.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Seventh-Seal-Criterion-Collection/dp/B001WLMOL4/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559355667&sr=1-2
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Seventh-Seal-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B001WLMOG4/ref=tmm_mfc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559355667&sr=1-2
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B004D797D2/ref=pd_cbs_318_3



I hope I've made good choices. I'll see you all next month!

Since I'm talking about the authors, I thought it would be beneficial to our conversations to follow in the direction we've taken with fantasy and list off some science fiction movies we've seen. Personally, I find it easier to talk about sci-fi movies because fantasy films, outside of animation, seem to have only recently become mainstream, whereas science fiction has a long and respectable lineage in motion pictures. I'd dare say that sci-fi has contributed to some of the most groundbreaking and influential films ever put to celluloid. I'm sure there are at least a few that you've all seen.


The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise, 1951)

One of the perennial classics of the genre - an alien visitor and a menacing robot come to Earth with a message of warning concerning the dangers of nuclear arms, and they're prepared to stop technology in its tracks completely to prove a point. A more cerebral, talkative piece that may be a bit dated, but it's still great fun.


2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

A landmark sheer spectacle, this epic journey traces the development of mankind from its primordial ancestors to the future space age, directed by mysterious black monoliths that harbinger and unknown future. Definitely a slow-moving film, it may take repeated viewings to fully grasp its message, but once you're in the mindset, it's an exceedingly impressive vision, not to mention more scientifically accurate that others. Highlights include an all-classical/experimental score, spectacular production design, and a menacingly eerie supercomputer that controls an entire ship but becomes increasingly paranoid.


Star Wars: Episodes IV-VI (George Lucas, 1977/Irvin Kirschner, 1980/Richard Marquand, 1983)

The definitive space opera and one of the greatest cultural phenomenons of modern culture, I don't even need to explain the plot to you, because you all already know it, even if you don't realize it yet. An example of the monomyth (hero's journey) spelt out in full, it's probably influenced as many stories as Tolkien's work: the inexperienced farm boy called to greatness, the evil Empire, the dark shrouded enforcer and his nefarious overlord, the princess of the rebellion, the dashing rogue and his sidekick....the list goes on. For better or worse, it changed the filmgoing experience entirely, and we're still feeling the repercussions today.

By the 1950's, science fiction was becoming a viable market, having moved from mere technological presentations to character studies. These authors rank among the best of them, having penned some of the most perennial works in the genre. So let's take a look at them.



ALFRED BESTER (1913-1987)

Alfred Bester's career began in 1939 with short fiction in the pulps Thrilling Wonder Stories and Startling Stories, later following his editors to DC Comics where he wrote for Superman and Green Lantern; he also wrote for several prominent radio programs before returning to prose fiction in 1950. His new phase would be highlighted by two novels of outstanding caliber: The Demolished Man, a taut detective story involving telepaths which won the inaugural Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1951, and The Stars My Destination, a sweeping revenge tale in the vein of Dumas that would precursor the late century's cyberpunk movement. His work earned him posthumous honors as both the ninth Grand Master of the SFWA and an inductee into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Bester)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/bester_alfred)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Bester)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/AlfredBester)
Editor Eric's Greatest Literature of All Time – Alfred Bester (http://www.editoreric.com/greatlit/authors/Bester.html)
Factor Daily – Bester's Best: The Stars My Destination, the Big Daddy of Cyberpunk Novels (https://factordaily.com/alfred-bester-stars-my-destination-cyberpunk/)
Tor.com – Telepaths, Murder and Typographical Tricks: Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man (https://www.tor.com/2010/10/22/telepaths-murder-and-typographical-tricks-alfred-besters-the-demolished-man/)
Tor.com – Keeping Telepaths in Mind: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (https://www.tor.com/2016/08/29/keeping-telepaths-in-mind-the-demolished-man-by-alfred-bester/)



JAMES BLISH (1921-1975)

Throughout the 1940's, James Blish was a practical writer, constantly revising and expanding his stories for publication under different names, and by the 1950's, his true talent began to shine through with the fix-up sequence called Cities in Flight (They Shall Have Stars, A Life for the Stars, Earthman, Come Home, and The Triumph of Time), based on the Oklahoma Dust Bowl migrations of the 1930's. His other major sequence, After Such Knowledge, explored religious themes and theological implications, the best known being the Hugo-winning A Case of Conscience, in which a Jesuit priest must contend with an alien race endowed with perfect morality in the absence of holy institutions; three more novels followed, being Doctor Mirabilis, Black Easter, and The Day After Judgment. Blish was also among the first literary critics of science fiction, applying the standards by which conventional literature was traditionally judged by.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blish)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=blish_james)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/blish_james)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Blish)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/JamesBlish)
Tor.com – Cities in Flight: James Blish's Overlooked Classic (https://www.tor.com/2018/02/08/cities-in-flight-james-blishs-overlooked-classic/)
Tor.com – Aliens and Jesuits: James Blish's A Case of Conscience (https://www.tor.com/2010/11/29/aliens-and-jesuits-james-blishs-a-case-of-conscience/)



CORDWAINER SMITH (1913-1966)

Dr. Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, godson of Chinese nationalist hero Sun Yat-sen and increasingly devout Anglican, gained a significant reputation in both nonfiction and politics as an expert on propaganda and psychological warfare, having written an eponymous text that remains essential reading for anyone in the field. Secretly, he published a set of unique science fiction stories under the pen name "Cordwainer Smith", constructed in the manner of traditional Chinese stories an detailing a future history of the galaxy in which the Instrumentality of Mankind oversees the revival of old cultures and languages in a process called the Rediscovery of Man. A total of 32 stories were published, among them such classics as "Scanners Live in Vain", "The Game of Rat and Dragon", "No, No, Not Rogov!", "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell", and "War No. 81-Q"; one novel, Norstrilia, was also posthumously published in its completed form in 1975. Today, an award in his name is given to rediscovered and underappreciated authors in the field of speculative fiction.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordwainer_Smith)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/smith_cordwainer)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/CordwainerSmith)
Official Website: The Remarkable Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith (http://www.cordwainer-smith.com/)
Arlington National Cemetery: Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/linebarg.htm)
Tor.com – The What-He-Did: The Poetic Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith (https://www.tor.com/2016/10/07/the-what-he-did-the-poetic-science-fiction-of-cordwainer-smith/)
Factor Daily – The (Re)Discovery of Cordwainer Smith, the Shaper of Myths (https://factordaily.com/cordwainer-smith-myths/)



WALTER M. MILLER JR. (1923-1996)

Walter M. Miller Jr. serves as an Army Air Corps radioman and tail gunner during World War II, during which the bombing of the Benedictine Abbey at Monte Cassino, Italy, would prove to be a traumatic experience for him. After the war, he converted to Catholicism and began writing science fiction stories, turning out over three dozen between 1951 and 1957. In 1959, he arranged three previously published novellas into the novel A Canticle for Leibowitz, set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by nuclear war where the monks of a lone American monastery preserve scientific achievements for future generations; the book was an instant classic, winning the 1961 Hugo Award and having never been out of print since publication. Miller became increasingly reclusive afterwards, finally committing suicide by firearm in 1996 after his wife's death, leaving behind a nearly complete manuscript of a sequel to his original novel, which was finished by his friend Terry Bisson and published as Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_M._Miller_Jr.)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/miller_walter_m)
Science Fiction Studies – David N. Samuelson: The Lost Canticles of Walter M. Miller Jr. (https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/8/samuelson8art.htm)
Tor.com – Dark Ages and Doubt: Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz (https://www.tor.com/2010/12/07/dark-ages-and-doubt-walter-m-millers-a-canticle-for-leibowitz/)
Tor.com – The One Book That Changed My Life Three Different Times (https://www.tor.com/2016/11/10/the-one-book-that-changed-my-life-three-different-times/)



DANIEL KEYES (1927-2014)

It was while working under Atlas Comics, which would later become the famous Marvel Comics, that Daniel Keyes got the idea of a story in which a mentally challenged man would undergo a process that would raise his intellect to genius level, only to slowly lose it and regress back to his original estate. He would publish his story in 1959 and later expand it into a full-length novel in 1966, both under the name Flowers for Algernon; the book would become a classic and a school curriculum title, though frequently challenged for removal from libraries in both the U.S. and Canada. He made his later living as a creative writing professor at Wayne State University and Ohio University.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Keyes)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/keyes_daniel)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Keyes)
The New York Times – Obituary of Daniel Keyes (https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/books/daniel-keyes-a-novelist-of-the-mind-dies-at-86.html)
Tor.com – Daniel Keyes: In Remembrance (https://www.tor.com/2014/06/17/daniel-keyes-in-remembrance/)



GEORGE R. STEWART (1895-1980)

George R. Stewart was better known for his social nonfiction regarding topics such as Pickett's Charge, the Donner party, and the history of U.S. place names, all of which have been relatively forgotten today, unfortunately; what fiction he did write was of little genre interest. He did write one science fiction novel, though: Earth Abides, one of the earliest modern post-apocalyptic novels, in which a mysterious plague decimates most of humanity and the question is raised of whether civilization is worth continuing. Winner of the inaugural International Fantasy Award of 1951, it is considered Stewart's crowning achievement in fiction and one of the finest novels of its kind, serving as an inspiration to later works such as Stephen King's The Stand.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._Stewart)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/stewart_george_r)
Tribute website (http://georgerstewart.com/)
Black Gate – Embers to Ashes: Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (https://www.blackgate.com/2019/01/27/embers-to-ashes-earth-abides-by-george-r-stewart/)



PAT FRANK (1908-1964)

Harry Hart Frank, who wrote under the name Pat Frank, was professionally a journalist and information handler who served the Office of War Information and worked as a foreign correspondent. His few novels expressed the dread of the Cold War's impending nuclear escalation, his best known being the perennial classic Alas, Babylon, which follows a family in a secluded Florida town which provides refuge as national tensions deteriorate into nuclear war and the world recovers; it has remained extremely popular even to this day, expressing a hopefulness amidst the terrors of man-made carnage.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Frank)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/frank_pat)
TV Tropes: Alas, Babylon (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/AlasBabylon)
Jacksonville.com – Pat Frank's "Alas, Babylon", 50 Years Later (https://www.jacksonville.com/article/20090615/LIFESTYLE/801232885)



JOHN WYNDHAM (1903-1969)

After several failed career starts, John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris turned to writing for money in 1925, turning out space operas and detective stories under several pseudonyms. However, after serving as both a censor and a cipher during World War II, he altered his writing style and took the pen name John Wyndham, finding greater success in 1951 by writing the post-apocalyptic novel The Day of the Triffids, in which the people of the world, recently blinded by a strange meteor shower, suddenly find themselves under attack by mutant carnivorous plants; it would prove to be his best known work, establishing him as a popular writer. Three more enduring classics would follow – The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, and The Midwich Cuckoos; another three (The Outward Urge, Trouble with Lichen, and Chocky) would be published in his lifetime, followed by two posthumous releases (Web and Plan for Chaos). Despite his works being sometimes disparaged as "cozy catastrophes", he remains a well-respected figure still read by his fellow Englishmen.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyndham)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/wyndham_john)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wyndham)
The Guardian – Profile of John Wyndham (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/10/johnwyndham)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/JohnWyndham)
We Need to Talk About Books – Review of The Day of the Triffids (https://weneedtotalkaboutbooks.com/2019/05/09/the-day-of-the-triffids-by-john-wyndham-a-review/)
Fantasies of Possibility – Falling Off the Tightrope: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (https://fantasiesofpossibility.wordpress.com/2016/02/25/falling-off-the-tightrope-the-day-of-the-triffids-by-john-wyndham/)
Fantasies of Possibility – Terror from the Deeps: The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham (https://fantasiesofpossibility.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/terror-from-the-deeps-the-kraken-wakes-by-john-wyndham-1953/)
Fantasies of Possibility – "Watch Thou for the Mutant": The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (https://fantasiesofpossibility.wordpress.com/2016/10/14/watch-thou-for-the-mutant-the-chrysalids-by-john-wyndham-1955/)
Fantasies of Possibility – The Golden-Eyed Children: The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham (https://fantasiesofpossibility.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/the-golden-eyed-children-the-midwich-cuckoos-by-john-wyndham-1957/)
Tor.com – Telepathy and Tribulation: The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (https://www.tor.com/2008/10/27/the-chrysalids/)
Tor.com – A Way the World Ends: The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham (https://www.tor.com/2009/10/13/the-way-the-world-ends-john-wyndhams-lemgthe-kraken-wakeslemg/)



Another batch is done, but more is on the way. Next time will find us looking as the transition from the end of the Golden Age to the rise of the New Wave. So if you want to talk about any of these people, leave a comment below and follow the forum post: http://www.lostpathway.com/index.php/topic,221.0.html#forum

I'm not sure how receptive this site is to science fiction, given the coolness that the last list received, but I feel I should mention another list. In 2012, authors Damien Broderick and Paul di Filippo organized a companion volume to David Pringle's original book, covering more recent titles, and for the sake of completion, I wanted to share this as well. Once again, it's organized along the same line - dates of publication in chronological order.


1.   The Handmaid's Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood
2.   Ender's Game (1985) by Orson Scott Card
3.   Radio Free Albemuth (1985) by Philip K. Dick
4.   Always Coming Home (1985) by Ursula K. Le Guin
5.   This Is the Way the World Ends (1985) by James Morrow
6.   Galápagos (1985) by Kurt Vonnegut
7.   The Falling Woman (1986) by Pat Murphy
8.   The Shore of Women (1986) by Pamela Sargent
9.   A Door into Ocean (1986) by Joan Slonczewski
10.   Soldiers of Paradise (1987) by Paul Park
11.   Life During Wartime (1987) by Lucius Shepard
12.   The Sea and Summer (1987) by George Turner
13.   Cyteen (1988) by C. J. Cherryh
14.   Neverness (1988) by David Zindell
15.   The Steerswoman (1989) by Rosemary Kirstein
16.   Grass (1989) by Sheri S. Tepper
17.   Use of Weapons (1990) by Iain M. Banks
18.   Queen of Angels (1990) by Greg Bear
19.   Barrayar (1991) by Lois McMaster Bujold
20.   Synners (1991) by Pat Cadigan
21.   Sarah Canary (1991) by Karen Joy Fowler
22.   White Queen (1991) by Gwyneth Jones
23.   Eternal Light (1991) by Paul J. McAuley
24.   Stations of the Tide (1991) by Michael Swanwick
25.   Timelike Infinity (1992) by Stephen Baxter
26.   Dead Girls (1992) by Richard Calder
27.   Jumper (1992) by Steven Gould
28.   China Mountain Zhang (1992) by Maureen F. McHugh
29.   Red Mars (1992) by Kim Stanley Robinson
30.   A Fire Upon the Deep (1992) by Vernor Vinge
31.   Aristoi (1992) by Walter Jon Williams
32.   Doomsday Book (1992) by Connie Willis
33.   Parable of the Sower (1993) by Octavia E. Butler
34.   Ammonite (1993) by Nicola Griffith
35.   Chimera (1993) by Mary Rosenblum
36.   Nightside the Long Sun (1993) by Gene Wolfe
37.   Brittle Innings (1994) by Michael Bishop
38.   Permutation City (1994) by Greg Egan
39.   Blood: A Southern Fantasy (1994) by Michael Moorcock
40.   Mother of Storms (1995) by John Barnes
41.   Sailing Bright Eternity (1995) by Gregory Benford
42.   Galatea 2.2 (1995) by Richard Powers
43.   The Diamond Age (1995) by Neal Stephenson
44.   The Transmigration of Souls (1996) by William Barton
45.   The Fortunate Fall (1996) by Raphael Carter
46.   The Sparrow (1996) and Children of God (1998) by Mary Doria Russell
47.   Holy Fire (1996) by Bruce Sterling
48.   Night Lamp (1996) by Jack Vance
49.   In the Garden of Iden (1997) by Kage Baker
50.   Forever Peace (1997) by Joe Haldeman
51.   Glimmering (1997) by Elizabeth Hand
52.   As She Climbed Across the Table (1997) by Jonathan Lethem
53.   The Cassini Division (1998) by Ken MacLeod
54.   Bloom (1998) by Will McCarthy
55.   Vast (1998) by Linda Nagata
56.   The Golden Globe (1998) by John Varley
57.   Headlong (1999) by Michael Frayn
58.   Cave of Stars (1999) by George Zebrowski
59.   Genesis (2000) by Poul Anderson
60.   Super-Cannes (2000) by J. G. Ballard
61.   Under the Skin (2000) by Michel Faber
62.   Perdido Street Station (2000) by China Miéville
63.   Distance Haze (2000) by Jamil Nasir
64.   Revelation Space (2000-07) by Alastair Reynolds
65.   Salt (2000) by Adam Roberts
66.   Ventus (2001) by Karl Schroeder
67.   The Cassandra Complex (2001) by Brian Stableford
68.   Light (2002) by M. John Harrison
69.   Altered Carbon (2002) by Richard Morgan
70.   The Separation (2002) by Christopher Priest
71.   The Golden Age (2002) by John C. Wright
72.   The Time Traveler's Wife (2003) by Audrey Niffenegger
73.   Natural History (2003) by Justina Robson
74.   The Labyrinth Key (2004) and Spears of God (2006) by Howard V. Hendrix
75.   River of Gods (2004) by Ian McDonald
76.   The Plot Against America (2004) by Philip Roth
77.   Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro
78.   The House of Storms (2005) by Ian R. MacLeod
79.   Counting Heads (2005) by David Marusek
80.   Air: Or, Have Not Have (2005) by Geoff Ryman
81.   Accelerando (2005) by Charles Stross
82.   Spin (2005) by Robert Charles Wilson
83.   The Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time (2006) by Liz Jensen
84.   The Road (2006) by Cormac McCarthy
85.   Temeraire, a.k.a. His Majesty's Dragon (2006) by Naomi Novik
86.   Blindsight (2006) by Peter Watts
87.   HARM (2007) by Brian Aldiss
88.   The Yiddish Policeman's Union (2007) by Michael Chabon
89.   The Secret City (2007) by Carol Emshwiller
90.   In War Times (2007) by Kathleen Ann Goonan
91.   Postsingular (2007) by Rudy Rucker
92.   Shadow of the Scorpion (2008) by Neal Asher
93.   The Hunger Games Trilogy (2008-10) by Suzanne Collins
94.   Little Brother (2008) by Cory Doctorow
95.   The Alchemy of Stone (2008) by Ekaterina Sedia
96.   The Windup Girl (2009) by Paolo Bacigalupi
97.   Steal Across the Sky (2009) by Nancy Kress
98.   Boneshaker (2009) by Cherie Priest
99.   Zoo City (2010) by Lauren Beukes
100.   Zero History (2010) by William Gibson
101.   The Quantum Thief (2010) by Hannu Rajaniemi

I only wish that they gave fantasy a similar treatment. That being said, I have one more list similar to this that I'll be sharing soon. In the meantime, feel free to discuss what you feel about this one and whether it better represents how you feel about science fiction today, if at all.

The period from 1938 to 1946 is considered by many historians of the genre to be the "Golden Age of Science Fiction", generally seen to be ushered in under the direction of John W. Campbell, editor of Astounding Science Fiction and a respected science fiction writer in his own right. It was noted for a sense of optimism in the achievements of science, as well as the development of space opera and a sense of wonder. This batch of authors is composed of those individuals who wrote either slightly before or during that period and remain some of the brightest and most respected figures.



ISAAC ASIMOV (1920-1992)

Russian-born Isaac Asimov is one of the most seminal figures in the genre, famous for coining the legendary fictional "Three Laws of Robotics" in his early robot stories, several of which were collected in I, Robot and expounded upon in novels such as The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn, and Robots and Empire. Another achievement would be a fictional science of "psychohistory" which would figure in his most famous work, the  Foundation series (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation), chronicling the decline of a Galactic Empire and the rise of its successor; a concurrently written prequel series (Pebble in the Sky, The Stars, Like Dust, and The Currents of Space) would follow the history of the Empire itself. Other single novels were highly regarded, such as The End of Eternity, the Hugo-winning The Gods Themselves, and Nemesis. He also wrote mysteries and fantasy in his later years, in addition to being honorary president of the American Humanist Association.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=asimov_isaac)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/asimov_isaac)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isaac-Asimov)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/IsaacAsimov)
The Isaac Asimov Home Page (http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_home_page.html)
Forbes.com – Isaac Asimov: A Family Immigrant Who Changed Science Fiction and the World (https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/04/16/isaac-asimov-a-family-immigrant-who-changed-science-fiction-and-the-world/#6003d3035a30)
The New York Times – What Isaac Asimov Taught Us About Predicting the Future (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/books/review/isaac-asimov-psychohistory.html)
Tor.com – On This Day: Isaac Asimov (https://www.tor.com/2016/01/02/a-science-fiction-halo-rests-slantedly-over-isaac-asimovs-amiable-head/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 8: Isaac Asimov and Messenger RNA (https://www.tor.com/2019/02/06/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-8-isaac-asimov-and-messenger-rna/)
Tor.com – Tampering with Historical Destiny: Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy (https://www.tor.com/2011/07/08/tampering-with-historical-destiny-isaac-asimovs-foundation-trilogy/)
Tor.com – Time Control: Isaac Asimov's The End of Eternity (https://www.tor.com/2010/07/08/time-control-isaac-asimovs-the-end-of-eternity/)
Tor.com – Great Aliens, Rubber Humans: Isaac Asimov's The Gods Themselves (https://www.tor.com/2011/03/08/great-aliens-rubber-humans-isaac-asimovs-the-gods-themselves/)



ARTHUR C. CLARKE (1917-2008)

Arthur C. Clarke, a contemporary of Asimov, was renowned for his popularization of space travel and predictions of the future, whose science fiction was concerned with the advanced evolution of humanity and technological development. His reputation was cemented by novels such as Childhood's End and The City and the Stars, as well as short stories like "The Sentinel", "The Star", and "The Nine Billion Names of God"; other well-received works include A Fall of Moondust, Rendezvous with Rama, The Fountains of Paradise, The Songs of Distant Earth, and The Hammer of God. Perhaps his most famous work is 2001: A Space Odyssey, a tale of the search for human advancement in space which was written concurrently with the legendary film directed by Stanley Kubrick; three sequels followed. He emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956, where he would remain until his death, but not before receiving a both knighthood and high honors from both his native and adopted countries.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/clarke_arthur_c)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-C-Clarke)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/ArthurCClarke)
The Arthur C. Clarke Official Website (http://arthurcclarke.org/#start)
The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation (http://www.clarkefoundation.org/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 9: Arthur C. Clarke and the Genetic Code (https://www.tor.com/2019/03/07/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-9-arthur-c-clarke-and-the-genetic-code/)
Tor.com – Wow! Wait, What? Wow!: Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End (https://www.tor.com/2012/07/31/wow-wait-what-wow-arthur-c-clarkes-childhoods-end/)
Tor.com – Engineering and Sri Lanka: Arthur C. Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise (https://www.tor.com/2011/04/22/engineering-and-sri-lanka-arthur-c-clarkes-the-fountains-of-paradise/)
Tor.com – A Future That Never Came: Arthur C. Clarke's A Fall of Moondust (https://www.tor.com/2010/09/29/a-future-that-never-came-arthur-c-clarkes-a-fall-of-moondust/)



ROBERT A. HEINLEIN (1907-1988)

Often regarded as "the dean of science fiction", Robert A. Heinlein ranks with Asimov and Clarke as one of the "Big Three" of American sci-fi writers, being one of the first to tackle scientific accuracy and competent individual achievement in his work. His early work consisted of a series highly praised juvenilia such as Red Planet, Farmer in the Sky, The Rolling Stones, Starman Jones, The Star Beast, Tunnel in the Sky, Citizen of the Galaxy, and Have Space Suit—Will Travel, as well as adult work including The Puppet Masters, Double Star (his first Hugo winner), and The Door into Summer. His middle period showed an increased interest in exploring social and sexual mores in such Hugo-winning classics as the militaristic Starship Troopers, the countercultural Stranger in a Strange Land, and the libertarian The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress; other notable works of this period and later include Glory Road, Time Enough for Love, Friday, and Job: A Comedy of Justice. Today, terms such as "grok", "speculative fiction", and "space marine" can be attributed to Heinlein, as well as predictions of future conveniences such as the waterbed and the cell phone.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=heinlein_robert_a)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/heinlein_robert_a)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-A-Heinlein)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/RobertAHeinlein)
The Heinlein Society (http://www.heinleinsociety.org/)
Tor.com – On This Day: Robert A. Heinlein (https://www.tor.com/2017/07/07/on-this-day-heinlein/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 7: Robert A. Heinlein and DNA Replication (https://www.tor.com/2018/10/18/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-7-robert-a-heinlein-and-dna-replication/)
Tor.com – Child Markers and Adulthood in Robert A. Heinlein's Juveniles (https://www.tor.com/2011/06/09/child-markers-and-adulthood-in-robert-a-heinleins-juveniles/)
Tor.com – Incredibly Readable: Robert A. Heinlein's The Door into Summer (https://www.tor.com/2010/02/10/incredibly-readable-robert-heinleins-lemgthe-door-into-summerlemg/)
Tor.com – Over the Hump: Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers (https://www.tor.com/2009/03/05/over-the-hump-robert-a-heinleins-starship-troopers/)
Tor.com – Smug Messiah: Robert A. Heinlein's Strange in a Strange Land (https://www.tor.com/2010/12/10/smug-messiah-robert-a-heinleins-stranger-in-a-strange-land/)
Tor.com – Parliamentary Democracy with Martians: Robert A. Heinlein's Double Star  (https://www.tor.com/2010/07/22/parliamentary-democracy-with-martians-robert-heinleins-double-star/)
Tor.com – A Self-Aware Computer and a Revolution on the Moon: Robert A. Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (https://www.tor.com/2010/10/15/a-self-aware-computer-and-a-revolution-on-the-moon-robert-a-heinleins-the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress/)



ALDOUS HUXLEY (1894-1963)

Grandson of evolutionary popularizer Thomas Henry Huxley, Aldous Huxley was a humanist and pacifist with an increasing interest in philosophical mysticism and universalism, as explored in his nonfiction works The Perennial Philosophy and The Doors of Perception. He wrote social satires for his first four novels before addressing the hedonistic concerns of his age with the dystopian classic Brave New World, which anticipates a world run by genetic engineering, class conditioning, and drug manipulation; his final novel, Island, would provide a utopian counterpart along similar lines. By the time of his death, Huxley was regarded as one of the foremost intellectuals of the 20th century.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/huxley_aldous)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aldous-Huxley)
Biography.com (https://www.biography.com/writer/aldous-huxley)
Academy of Ideas – Aldous Huxley and Brave New World: The Dark Side of Pleasure (https://academyofideas.com/2018/06/aldous-huxley-brave-new-world-dark-side-of-pleasure/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 3: Aldous Huxley and Thomas Hunt Morgan (https://www.tor.com/2018/05/24/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-3-aldous-huxley-and-thomas-hunt-morgan/)



OLAF STAPLEDON (1886-1950)

A conscientious objector during World War I, William Olaf Stapledon earned honors for being an ambulance driver in France and Belgium and later earned a PhD in philosophy from the University of Liverpool. While he began with nonfiction, he felt that he could reach a wider audience for his ideas with fiction and subsequently wrote Last and First Men, one of the first epic future histories covering eighteen generations of humanity; a successive story, Star Maker, covers an even greater scale – the history of the cosmos up to the meeting of the supreme creator of it. Other noteworthy works are Odd John, focused on an intellectual superhuman, and Sirius, where a dog's intelligence is raised to a human's. Stapledon's work has been acclaimed by numerous authors, particularly C. S. Lewis, who wrote his Space Trilogy in response to his ideas.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Stapledon)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/stapledon_olaf)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olaf-Stapledon)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/OlafStapledon)
Chronicles Magazine – Olaf Stapledon: Philosopher and Fabulist (https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/olaf-stapledon-philosopher-and-fabulist/)
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers in the Great War: Olaf Stapledon (https://fantastic-writers-and-the-great-war.com/the-writers/olaf-stapledon/)
Turing Church – Star Maker: The Cosmic Theology of Olaf Stapledon (https://turingchurch.net/star-maker-the-cosmic-theology-of-olaf-stapledon-26c80d56c2d9)
Pop Matters – Olaf Stapledon: Of His Times, and Others (https://www.popmatters.com/olaf-stapledon-of-his-time-and-others-2496208513.html)
Factor Daily – Our Turbulent World Against a Background of Stars: Why Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker Is Essential Reading, Even Today (https://factordaily.com/olaf-stapledon-star-makers/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 5: Olaf Stapledon and the Modern Synthesis (https://www.tor.com/2018/08/02/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-5-olaf-stapledon-and-the-modern-synthesis/)
Black Gate – Literature and Ideas: Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker (https://www.blackgate.com/2011/03/06/literature-and-ideas-olaf-stapledons-star-maker/)



A. E. VAN VOGT (1912-2000)

Canadian-born Alfred Elton van Vogt was one of the Golden Age's most popular writers, whose idiosyncratic style would influence later writers such as Philip K. Dick. He began writing in 1938, working even during WWII, where he was ineligible to serve due to poor eyesight. One of his first stories, "The Black Destroyer", which was included in the fixup novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle inspired several adapted stories, including the movie Alien; another story, one of his most famous, is the novel Slan, in which psychic supermen live in secret from their human oppressors. Further successes were The Book of Ptath, The Weapon Makers, The World of Null-A, The Weapon Shops of Isher, The War Against the Rull, The Mixed Men, Empire of the Atom, and The Wizard of Linn. He is well regarded by many writers but equally reviled by some, and his reputation is somewhat marred by being an avid supporter of L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._E._van_Vogt)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=van_vogt_a_e)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/van_vogt_a_e)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/A-E-Van-Vogt)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/AEVanVogt)
Sevagram: The A. E. van Vogt Information Site (http://www.icshi.net/sevagram/)
Conceptual Fiction – The Chaotic Sci-Fi of A. E. van Vogt: A Centenary Tribute (http://www.conceptualfiction.com/van_vogt.html)
The Finch & the Pea – The Infuriating and Essential Science Fiction of A. E. van Vogt (https://thefinchandpea.com/2013/01/14/the-infuriating-and-essential-science-fiction-of-a-e-van-vogt/)
Black Gate – Vintage Treasures: The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. van Vogt (https://www.blackgate.com/2014/09/24/vintage-treasures-the-voyage-of-the-space-beagle-by-a-e-van-vogt/)
Black Gate – The Golden Age of Science Fiction: A. E. van Vogt (https://www.blackgate.com/2019/04/28/the-golden-age-of-science-fiction-a-e-van-vogt/)
Black Gate – Classically Awful or Awfully Classic: A. E. van Vogt's The World of Null-A (https://www.blackgate.com/2016/03/02/classically-awful-or-awfully-classic-van-vogts-the-world-of-null-a/)



RAY BRADBURY (1920-2012)

Writer, cartoonist, and magician, Ray Bradbury channeled a lifelong love of reading and comic books into a long and illustrious career, becoming one of the most beloved and respected figures in speculative fiction. His prolific output included a series of tales set on an imaginary Mars, collected as The Martian Chronicles, followed by numerous collections such as The Illustrated Man, The Golden Apples of the Sun, and I Sing the Body Electric. Perhaps his most celebrated science fiction work is the dystopian classic Fahrenheit 451, set in a future where books are outlawed and a "fireman" tasked with burning them discovers the forbidden joys of learning. His work remains a perennial favorite and a constant inspiration to writers of all ages.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=bradbury_ray)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/bradbury_ray)
The Official Ray Bradbury Website (http://www.raybradbury.com/)
Bio.com (https://www.biography.com/people/ray-bradbury-9223240#synopsis)
New World Encyclopedia (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ray_Bradbury)
The Paris Review – Ray Bradbury, The Art of Fiction No. 203 (https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6012/ray-bradbury-the-art-of-fiction-no-203-ray-bradbury)
The New Yorker – Take Me Home by Ray Bradbury (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/06/04/take-me-home)
Tor.com – Remembering Ray Bradbury (https://www.tor.com/2012/06/08/remembering-ray-bradbury/)
Black Gate – I Want to Believe: Ray Bradbury and the Sci-Fi in the Everyday (https://www.blackgate.com/2015/06/20/i-want-to-believe-ray-bradbury-and-the-sci-fi-in-the-everyday/)
Black Gate – One Shot, One Story: Ray Bradbury (https://www.blackgate.com/2015/06/11/one-shot-one-story-ray-bradbury/)
Black Gate – A Brief Tribute to the Stories of Ray Bradbury (https://www.blackgate.com/2012/06/07/a-brief-tribute-to-the-stories-of-ray-bradbury/)



GEORGE ORWELL (1903-1950)

Eric Arthur Blair, better known to the literary world as George Orwell, was one of the most prolific journalists of his age, a fierce critic of totalitarianism and an equally fierce advocate of democratic socialism. In addition to his literary criticism, he wrote poetry and novels about English life. He is best remembered today for two outstanding works: the first, Animal Farm, is an allegory of the rise of Stalinist Russia played out through animals who rebel against their owners but eventually becoming just as corrupt, and the second is probably the most famous dystopian novel in the English language, Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which a lonely citizen of a future English superstate enters into a forbidden relationship with a co-worker in an act of rebellion but runs afoul of the oppressive governing Party. His work has become so entrenched in popular culture that the term "Orwellian" is used to describe situations characterized by propaganda, surveillance, draconian control, and misinformation; other terms coined by author include "thoughtcrime", "doublespeak", and "2+2=5", among others.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=orwell_george)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/orwell_george)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Orwell)
The Guardian – Nothing but the Truth: The Legacy of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/19/legacy-george-orwell-nineteen-eighty-four)
Biography.com (https://www.biography.com/writer/george-orwell)
Mashable.com – Why Orwell's "1984" Is More Prophetic Than Ever in 2019 (https://mashable.com/article/1984-orwell-guide-future-generations/)
Mental Floss – 13 Surprising Facts About George Orwell (http://mentalfloss.com/article/546150/facts-about-george-orwell)



And so, another entry is finished. Next time, we take a look at what the 1950's wrought, as there are some who consider it the true Golden Age. Until then, you can discuss this set of authors both in the comments below and on the forum topic here: http://www.lostpathway.com/index.php/topic,221.0.html#forum

While it may not be to everyone's taste, I feel I would be remiss to leave horror out of the mix. Therefore, I have another list for you, compiled by British authors Kim Newman and Stephen Graham Jones, of the 100 most influential books of horror published by 1988. Now the interesting thing about this list is, aside from once again being arranged chronologically by publishing date, the entries in the book are suggested by other writers - one will list his or her opinion on a significant title, then another will do the same for another, and so on. Therefore, we have quite a varied selection.

Not all of these are necessarily fantastic in nature, nor are others directly what one would consider traditional horror, but quite a few are relevant to fantasy interests, so I feel it's worth mentioning. Also, being from a British perspective, some of the titles are U.K. originals and may not have a direct American equivalent.


1.   The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (1604) by Christopher Marlowe
2.   The Tragedy of Macbeth (c. 1603 or 1607) by William Shakespeare
3.   The White Devil (1612) by John Webster
4.   Caleb Williams (1794) by William Godwin
5.   The Monk (1796) by Matthew Gregory Lewis
6.   The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1814-16) by E. T. A. Hoffmann
7.   Northanger Abbey (1817) by Jane Austen
8.   Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley
9.   Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) by Charles Robert Maturin
10.   The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) by James Hogg
11.   Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1839/1908) by Edgar Allan Poe
12.   Twice-Told Tales (1837-1842) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
13.   The Black Spider (1842) by Jeremias Gotthelf
14.   The Wandering Jew (1844) by Eugène Sue
15.   The Confidence-Man (1857) by Herman Melville
16.   Uncle Silas (1864) by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
17.   The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson
18.   She (1887) by H. Rider Haggard
19.   The King in Yellow (1895) by Robert W. Chambers
20.   The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896) by H. G. Wells
21.   Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker
22.   The Turn of the Screw (1898) by Henry James
23.   Heart of Darkness (1902) by Joseph Conrad
24.   The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903) by Bram Stoker
25.   Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904) by M. R. James
26.   The House of Souls (1906) by Arthur Machen
27.   John Silence (1908) by Algernon Blackwood
28.   The Man Who Was Thursday (1908) by G. K. Chesterton
29.   The House on the Borderland (1908) by William Hope Hodgson
30.   The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce (1909) by Ambrose Bierce
31.   Widdershins (1911) by Oliver Onions
32.   The Horror Horn (1912-34) by E. F. Benson
33.   A Voyage to Arcturus (1920) by David Lindsay
34.   The Trial (1925) by Franz Kafka
35.   Something About Eve (1929) by James Branch Cabell
36.   Medusa (1929) by E. H. Visiak
37.   The Werewolf of Paris (1933) by Guy Endore
38.   The Last Bouquet (1933) by Marjorie Bowen
39.   The Cadaver of Gideon Wyck (1934) by Alexander Laing
40.   A Second Century of Creepy Stories (1937) edited by Hugh Walpole
41.   The Dark Tower (1938) by C. S. Lewis
42.   Johnny Got His Gun (1939) by Dalton Trumbo
43.   The Outsider and Others (1939) by H. P. Lovecraft
44.   Out of Space and Time (1942) by Clark Ashton Smith
45.   Conjure Wife (1943) by Fritz Leiber
46.   Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1945) by Cornell Woolrich
47.   The Lurker at the Threshold (1945) by H. P. Lovecraft & August Derleth
48.   Deliver Me from Eva (1946) by Paul Bailey
49.   And the Darkness Falls (1946) edited by Boris Karloff
50.   The Sleeping and the Dead (1947) edited by August Derleth
51.   The Track of the Cat (1949) by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
52.   The Sound of His Horn (1952) by Sarban
53.   Lord of the Flies (1954) by William Golding
54.   I Am Legend (1954) by Richard Matheson
55.   The October Country (1955) by Ray Bradbury
56.   Nine Horrors and a Dream (1958) by Joseph Payne Brennan
57.   Psycho (1959) by Robert Bloch
58.   Quatermass and the Pit (1959) by Nigel Kneale
59.   Cry Horror! (1959) by H. P. Lovecraft
60.   The Haunting of Hill House (1959) by Shirley Jackson
61.   The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1964) by Philip K. Dick
62.   The Painted Bird (1965) by Jerzy Kosiński
63.   The Crystal World (1966) by J. G. Ballard
64.   Sub Rosa (1968) by Robert Aickman
65.   The Green Man (1969) by Kingsley Amis
66.   The Compleat Werewolf (1969) by Anthony Boucher
67.   Grendel (1971) by John Gardner
68.   The Exorcist (1971) by William Peter Blatty
69.   The Sheep Look Up (1972) by John Brunner
70.   Worse Things Waiting (1973) by Manly Wade Wellman
71.   Burnt Offerings (1973) by Robert Marasco
72.   'Salem's Lot (1975) by Stephen King
73.   Deathbird Stories (1975) by Harlan Ellison
74.   Murgunstrumm and Others (1977) by Hugh B. Cave
75.   Sweetheart, Sweetheart (1977) by Bernard Taylor
76.   All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By (1977) by John Farris
77.   The Shining (1977) by Stephen King
78.   Falling Angel (1978) by William Hjortsberg
79.   The Wolfen (1978) by Whitley Strieber
80.   The Totem (1979) by David Morrell
81.   Ghost Story (1979) by Peter Straub
82.   The Land of Laughs (1980) by Jonathan Carroll
83.   The Cellar (1980) by Richard Laymon
84.   Red Dragon (1981) by Thomas Harris
85.   The Keep (1981) by F. Paul Wilson
86.   The Dark Country (1982) by Dennis Etchison
87.   In a Lonely Place (1983) by Karl Edward Wagner
88.   The Anubis Gates (1983) by Tim Powers
89.   The Arabian Nightmare (1983) by Robert Irwin
90.   The Wasp Factory (1984) by Iain Banks
91.   The Ceremonies (1984) by T. E. D. Klein
92.   Mythago Wood (1984) by Robert Holdstock
93.   Who Made Stevie Crye? (1984) by Michael Bishop
94.   Song of Kali (1985) by Dan Simmons
95.   The D**nation Game (1985) by Clive Barker
96.   Hawksmoor (1985) by Peter Ackroyd
97.   A Nest of Nightmares (1986) by Lisa Tuttle
98.   The Pet (1986) by Charles L. Grant
99.   Swan Song (1987) by Robert McCammon
100.   Dark Feasts (1987) by Ramsey Campbell

So how does this list rank against the others? How many titles have you heard of? Are there any that you feel are worth checking out?

So, as our trek through fantasy began with some of the trope codifiers, I feel it's only natural to start with some of the earliest and most notable trendsetters of science fiction. In many ways, this particular set of authors pretty much invented the genre, although there are other debatable starting points. But for our situation, I think this will do. So, who wants to dig in?



JULES VERNE (1828-1905)

A visionary author of incredible literary esteem in French and European circles, though his Anglophone reputation has been marred by subpar translations and abridgement, Jules Verne holds the great distinction of being the second most-translated author in the world, situated between crime legend Agatha Christie and the venerable William Shakespeare. For over a century and a half, his Voyages Extraordinaires have thrilled audiences with their mix of exotic adventure and prescient scientific predictions in standout titles like Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in Eighty Days, and The Mysterious Island. The literary avant-garde and surrealist movements are among the most notable crowds influenced by his eternally fresh style.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/verne_jules)
The North American Jules Verne Society (http://www.najvs.org/publications.shtml)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jules-Verne)
Zvi Har'El's Jules Verne Collection (http://jv.gilead.org.il/)
Tor.com – On This Day: Jules Verne (https://www.tor.com/2017/02/08/jules-vernes-love-of-adventure-took-us-from-the-center-of-the-earth-to-the-surface-of-the-moon/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 1: Verne and Darwin (https://www.tor.com/2018/03/21/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-1-verne-and-darwin/)
Forbes.com – The Geology of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth (https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2019/02/08/the-geology-of-jules-vernes-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-earth/#30f54bba5197)



H. G. WELLS (1866-1946)

As well-known as Verne, Herbert George Wells was a futurist of his day, a forward-thinking social critic whose works foresaw many of the modern developments that we now take for granted, both the beneficial and the destructive. His early work remains his most long-lasting, consisting of such classics as The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, When the Sleeper Wakes, and The First Men in the Moon. Later works became more political and didactic, although standouts include The Food of the Gods, In the Days of the Comet, The War in the Air, Tono-Bungay, The History of Mr. Polly, and The Shape of Things to Come.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=wells_h_g)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/wells_h_g)
The H. G. Wells Society (http://hgwellssociety.com/)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/H-G-Wells)
Wells at the World's End – An H. G. Wells Blog (http://wellsattheworldsend.blogspot.com/)
Tor.com – On This Day: H. G. Wells (https://www.tor.com/2016/09/21/on-this-day-h-g-wells/)
Tor.com – H. G. Wells and the Dream of Astronomy (https://www.tor.com/2015/05/12/hg-wells-and-the-dream-of-astronomy/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 2: Wells and Mendel (https://www.tor.com/2018/04/19/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-2-wells-and-mendel/)



HUGO GERNSBACK (1884-1967)

An immigrant from Luxembourg, Hugo Gernsback was a pioneer in the promotion of radio and other early wireless technology before turning to what he dubbed "scientifiction", the most notable of which would be his novel Ralph 124C 41+, an optimistic future history regarded as an important text in the development of science fiction literature, though marred by an inept clunkiness. His major contribution, however, was as a publisher, having founded the pulp magazine Amazing Stories in 1926, thereby providing a public forum from which science fiction could become a major literary movement; numerous other magazines would follow, though he would gain notoriety for less-than-honest business practices. In honor of his work, for better or worse, one of the major annual science fiction awards has been christened as the Hugo.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Gernsback)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/gernsback_hugo)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hugo-Gernsback)
Dan Dare – The Father of Science Fiction: Hugo Gernsback (http://www.dandare.info/info/gernsback.htm)
The Vintage News – Hugo Gernsback (https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/05/25/hugo-gernsback/)



EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS (1875-1950)

Edgar Rice Burroughs lived a life of numerous false starts before turning to writing at age 36, after which he would become one of the most successful storytellers of the early 20th century with his numerous novels of adventure set in exotic locations from the depths of Africa to the planet Mars. Among his most beloved works is the saga of John Carter of Mars, introduced in A Princess of Mars, in which the titular American Civil War veteran is transported to Mars (called "Barsoom" by its inhabitants), finds himself possessed of superhuman physicality brought on by the planet's alien atmosphere, and becomes enamored of a captive princess; other tales of note are At the Earth's Core, set in the underground world of Pellucidar, and The Land That Time Forgot, where British and German forces become stranded on a remote island teeming with prehistoric life. His greatest success is arguably the cultural icon of the jungle hero Tarzan, which, beginning with Tarzan of the Apes, would spawn a nearly unprecedented multimedia franchise, though the book would be retrospectively viewed as carrying racist undertones; a total of 23 further entries would follow, some published posthumously.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Rice_Burroughs)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=burroughs_edgar_rice)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/burroughs_edgar_rice)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Rice-Burroughs)
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. (https://www.edgarriceburroughs.com/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 4: Edgar Rice Burroughs and Theodosius Dobzhansky (https://www.tor.com/2018/06/14/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-4-edgar-rice-burroughs-and-theodosius-dobzhansky/)
Tor.com – Heredity, Environment, and a Few Dead Lions: Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes (https://www.tor.com/2016/04/07/heredity-environment-and-a-few-dead-lions-edgar-rice-burroughs-tarzan-of-the-apes/)
Tor.com – John Carter and the Origins of Science Fiction Adventure: A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (https://www.tor.com/2019/05/23/john-carter-and-the-origins-of-science-fiction-adventure-a-princess-of-mars-by-edgar-rice-burroughs/)
Black Gate – Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars, Part 1: A Princess of Mars (https://www.blackgate.com/2012/01/03/edgar-rice-burroughs's-mars-part-1-a-princess-of-mars/)



ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (1859-1930)

Originally a physician, Doyle is best known as the creator of the numerous short stories and novels featuring the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. However, he was also a prolific writer in other genres. His contributions to science fiction rest primarily on the stories featuring Professor George Edward Challenger, particularly the classic The Lost World, which was followed by two lesser-known sequels, The Poison Belt and The Land of Mist. Other works of speculative fiction include The Mystery of Cloomber and stories such as "Lot No. 249", "The Terror of Blue John Gap", and "The Horror of the Heights."

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=doyle_arthur_conan)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/doyle_arthur_conan)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-Conan-Doyle)
The Official Arthur Conan Doyle Website (https://www.arthurconandoyle.com/)
Eight Miles Higher – "Our Eyes Have Seen Great Wonders": The Lost Worlds of Arthur Conan Doyle (https://andrewdarlington.blogspot.com/2014/11/arthur-conan-doyle-his-science-fiction.html)
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers in the Great War: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (https://fantastic-writers-and-the-great-war.com/the-writers/sir-arthur-conan-doyle/)
Tor.com – Dinosaurs in the Amazon: The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle (https://www.tor.com/2018/03/15/dinosaurs-in-the-amazon-the-lost-world-by-arthur-conan-doyle/)



PHILIP WYLIE (1902-1971)

Philip Wylie is not very well known today, but his early work has been inferred to be highly influential in much of early pop culture. Gladiator, recounting the life of a genetically engineered superhuman, has been speculated to be partially responsible for the creation of Superman, and the central plot of The Savage Gentleman is noted for its close similarities to pulp hero Doc Savage; finally, When Worlds Collide, co-written with Edwin Balmer, was used as the basis for Alex Raymond's seminal comic strip Flash Gordon. Other works approached novel social and ethical mores, such as gender relations in the absence of either (The Disappearance), nuclear war and civil defense (Tomorrow! and Triumph), and ecological catastrophe (The End of the Dream).

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Wylie)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/wylie_philip)
Science Fiction Studies – When World-Views Collide: Philip Wylie in the Twenty-First Century (https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/review_essays/feeley95.htm)
Fantastical Andrew Fox – Review of Gladiator (http://www.fantasticalandrewfox.com/book-reviews/gladiator-by-philip-wylie/)
Skulls in the Stars – Philip Wylie's Gladiator (https://skullsinthestars.com/2012/05/24/philip-wylies-gladiator-1930/)
Black Gate – The Unfulfilled Superhero: Philip Wylie's Gladiator (https://www.blackgate.com/2013/06/09/the-unfulfilled-superhero-philip-wylies-gladiator/)



E. E. SMITH (1890-1965)

Some authors come from the most unlikely of places. As such, it seems incredible that a food engineer specializing in doughnuts and pastry mixes would ever become a contributor to popular fiction. However, Edward Elmer Smith, nicknamed "Doc" by his fans, is regarded as the father of space opera, having penned such wildly imaginative works as the Skylark tetralogy, pitting a heroic scientist and his space drive against starships, alien civilizations, and a larger-than-life villain, and the Lensman series, in which galactic peace rests in the hands of an elite corps of psionic soldiers entrusted with quasi-magical talismans ("lenses"). Theses works would inspire countless following writers and set the stage for the development of DC Comics' Green Lantern Corps and the Star Wars franchise.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Smith)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/smith_e_e)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/E-E-Smith)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/EEDocSmith)
Fantastic Worlds – The Seminal Status of "Doc" Smith's Lensman Series (https://fantasticworlds-jordan179.blogspot.com/2011/04/seminal-status-of-doc-smiths-lensman.html)



YEVGENY ZAMYATIN (1884-1937)

Yevgeny Zamyatin was an early Bolshevik and supporter of the Russian Communist Party, but after the October Revolution, being a writer himself, he became uneasy with their increasing totalitarian policies, including censorship. In response, from 1920 to 1921, he wrote We, one of the very first future dystopian novels of its kind, envisioning a united yet oppressive "One State" where individuality and emotion is eliminated under the justification of logic and reason, while a mathematician experiences love for the first time. The novel was the first work banned by the Soviet censorship board, so Zamyatin arranged for it to be smuggled into the West; while his subsequent Russian reputation deteriorated, his work provided a direct inspiration for Orwell, and he has since been recognized as one of the first Soviet dissidents.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Zamyatin)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/zamiatin_yevgeny)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yevgeny-Zamyatin)
Spartacus Educational – Yevgeny Zamyatin (https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSzamyatin.htm)
Mental Floss – We: The Novel That Inspired George Orwell's 1984 (http://mentalfloss.com/article/64492/we-novel-inspired-george-orwells-1984)
Mises Institute – Yevgeny Zamyatin: Libertarian Novelist (https://mises.org/library/yevgeny-zamyatin-libertarian-novelist)



And so it begins. I already have my next few entries planned out, so I'll try to get to them as soon as you can. I can only hope that this series is as enjoyable as my fantasy excursion. If you want to discuss these authors and their works, please leave a comment below, and for further talk, check out the forum topic here: http://www.lostpathway.com/index.php/topic,221.0.html#forum

We've come quite a long way, haven't we? We've covered a lot of ground on fantasy writers, and I have so many more on the way. I will admit, though, that I don't really feel about it the way that I used to. Perhaps it has to do with getting little to no response on my entries, coupled with the awkwardness of doing everything on forum features, which entails typing in full on Word documents due to the size and time consumption, which drains me. It felt easier on an actual blog, though that might be nostalgic wishful thinking. But I do intend on continuing with it. Fantasy is a vast, nebulous genre.

Related to that is an epiphany I've had: when speaking about speculative fiction in general, is it really that constructive to talk about only one branch of it for so long? I don't want to seem single-minded, nor do I want to encourage anyone else to think that way. And having covered fantasy for so long, I feel that it would be good for my audience for me to introduce them to other forms. Thus I've decided to give a substantial portion of this blog to discussing one of the most respected, venerable forms of speculation: science fiction.

Perhaps far more than horror, science fiction has been in competition with fantasy as a form of expression. In many ways, it's the mirror of fantasy, yet the two halves complement one another. Since they are distinct enough to warrant separate entries, I will be creating another series that will run at least until I run out of writers. Also, there will be a couple instances of some authors from the Masters of Fantasy series appearing here where I feel that either I didn't represent their other output enough or I could speak more about their relation to science fiction. With any luck, I would hope that I can get any non-sf readers to try it out. I feel it would be well worth the effort.




NOTE: I have mulled over doing a third series based on horror, but I'm not sure my audience would be too receptive to it. For the time being, I will be occasionally be noting any horror authors who deal particularly in the fantastic on both blogs, but I wish to keep a third series in consideration, unless anyone objects. Still, I wouldn't necessarily anticipate it. I will accept any feedback regarding it.

Considering that we have a popular thread dedicated to fantasy authors already, I thought it would be only fair to highlight the competition now. Also, it would be nice to have some discussion going again. Anyway, here we get to talk about the many writers who have codified the many subgenres of science fiction. What are some of your favorites, if any? That being said, what is your history with science fiction? What do you feel about it, compared to fantasy or other genres? Why do you read it, or why not?

Personally, my own experience has been good but structurally mixed. There are definitely LOTS of science fiction stories that I love in film, of which I've seen no shortage of, but as for books, I've never been too keen on them, and I can't put my finger on exactly why. However, I definitely wish to amend that situation. Believe me, I have a good number of notable sci-fi authors in mind, and I'll be trying to check most of them out over time. In the meantime, I'd like to know your on thoughts on a long and widely respected genre like this.

Fantasy has long been "in competition" with science fiction, and it could be argued that one has been received far more respectability than the other. Thus, this is the list that led to all the others. I thought that it would be beneficial to recognize the history and intersection of speculative fiction in the broad run, so here is David Pringle's list of some of the most influential science fiction titles in the postwar era. Note that, like the other lists, this is arranged by publication date and only reflects the views of the editor, though it's my hope that any curious readers would be pushed to check out some of them.


1.   Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell
2.   Earth Abides (1949) by George R. Stewart
3.   The Martian Chronicles (1950) by Ray Bradbury
4.   The Puppet Masters (1951) by Robert A. Heinlein
5.   The Day of the Triffids (1951) by John Wyndham
6.   Limbo (1952) by Bernard Wolfe
7.   The Demolished Man (1953) by Alfred Bester
8.   Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury
9.   Childhood's End (1953) by Arthur C. Clarke
10.   The Paradox Men (1953) by Charles L. Harness
11.   Bring the Jubilee (1953) by Ward Moore
12.   The Space Merchants (1953) by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth
13.   Ring Around the Sun (1953) by Clifford D. Simak
14.   More Than Human (1953) by Theodore Sturgeon
15.   Mission of Gravity (1954) by Hal Clement
16.   A Mirror for Observers (1954) by Edgar Pangborn
17.   The End of Eternity (1955) by Isaac Asimov
18.   The Long Tomorrow (1955) by Leigh Brackett
19.   The Inheritors (1955) by William Golding
20.   The Stars My Destination (1956) by Alfred Bester
21.   The Death of Grass (1956) by John Christopher
22.   The City and the Stars (1956) by Arthur C. Clarke
23.   The Door into Summer (1957) by Robert A. Heinlein
24.   The Midwich Cuckoos (1957) by John Wyndham
25.   Non-Stop (1958) by Brian Aldiss
26.   A Case of Conscience (1958) by James Blish
27.   Have Space Suit – Will Travel (1958) by Robert A. Heinlein
28.   Time Out of Joint (1959) by Philip K. Dick
29.   Alas, Babylon (1959) by Pat Frank
30.   A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959) by Walter M. Miller Jr.
31.   The Sirens of Titan (1959) by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
32.   Rogue Moon (1960) by Algis Budrys
33.   Venus Plus X (1960) by Theodore Sturgeon
34.   Hothouse (1962) by Brian Aldiss
35.   The Drowned World (1962) by J. G. Ballard
36.   A Clockwork Orange (1962) by Anthony Burgess
37.   The Man in the High Castle (1962) by Philip K. Dick
38.   Journey Beyond Tomorrow (1962) by Robert Sheckley
39.   Way Station (1963) by Clifford D. Simak
40.   Cat's Cradle (1963) by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
41.   Greybeard (1964) by Brian Aldiss
42.   Nova Express (1964) by William S. Burroughs
43.   Martian Time-Slip (1964) by Philip K. Dick
44.   The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965) by Philip K. Dick
45.   The Wanderer (1965) by Fritz Leiber
46.   Norstrilia (1965) by Cordwainer Smith
47.   Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We All Got Along After the Bomb (1965) by Philip K. Dick
48.   Dune (1965) by Frank Herbert
49.   The Crystal World (1966) by J. G. Ballard
50.   Make Room! Make Room! (1966) by Harry Harrison
51.   Flowers for Algernon (1966) by Daniel Keyes
52.   The Dream Master (1966) by Roger Zelazny
53.   Stand on Zanzibar (1968) by John Brunner
54.   Nova (1968) by Samuel R. Delany
55.   Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Philip K. Dick
56.   Camp Concentration (1968) by Thomas M. Disch
57.   The Final Programme (1968) by Michael Moorcock
58.   Pavane (1968) by Keith Roberts
59.   Heroes and Villains (1969) by Angela Carter
60.   The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) by Ursula K. Le Guin
61.   The Palace of Eternity (1969) by Bob Shaw
62.   Bug Jack Barron (1969) by Norman Spinrad
63.   Tau Zero (1970) by Poul Anderson
64.   Downward to the Earth (1970) by Robert Silverberg
65.   The Year of the Quiet Sun (1970) by Wilson Tucker
66.   334 (1972) by Thomas M. Disch
67.   The Fifth Head of Cerberus (1972) by Gene Wolfe
68.   The Dancers at the End of Time (1972) by Michael Moorcock
69.   Crash (1973) by J. G. Ballard
70.   Looking Backward from the Year 2000 (1973) by Mack Reynolds
71.   The Embedding (1973) by Ian Watson
72.   Walk to the End of the World (1974) by Suzy McKee Charnas
73.   The Centauri Device (1974) by M. John Harrison
74.   The Dispossessed (1974) by Ursula K. Le Guin
75.   The Inverted World (1974) by Christopher Priest
76.   High Rise (1975) by J. G. Ballard
77.   Galaxies (1975) by Barry N. Malzberg
78.   The Female Man (1975) by Joanna Russ
79.   Orbitsville (1975) by Bob Shaw
80.   The Alteration (1976) by Kingsley Amis
81.   Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) by Marge Piercy
82.   Man Plus (1976) by Frederik Pohl
83.   Michaelmas (1977) by Algis Budrys
84.   The Ophiuchi Hotline (1977) by John Varley
85.   Miracle Visitors (1978) by Ian Watson
86.   Engine Summer (1979) by John Crowley
87.   On Wings of Song (1979) by Thomas M. Disch
88.   The Walking Shadow (1979) by Brian Stableford
89.   Juniper Time (1979) by Kate Wilhelm
90.   Timescape (1980) by Gregory Benford
91.   The Dreaming Dragons (1980) by Damien Broderick
92.   Wild Seed (1980) by Octavia E. Butler
93.   Riddley Walker (1980) by Russell Hoban
94.   The Complete Roderick (1980) by John Sladek
95.   The Shadow of the Torturer (1980) by Gene Wolfe
96.   The Unreasoning Mask (1981) by Philip José Farmer
97.   Oath of Fealty (1981) by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
98.   No Enemy but Time (1982) by Michael Bishop
99.   The Birth of the People's Republic of Antarctica (1983) by John Calvin Batchelor
100.   Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson


So are there any fantasy readers who would be moved to "defect" for a time and try out some sci-fi? For those who already have, what are some notable science fiction stories that you've read? Do you like sci-fi? What's the appeal of one over the other (sci-fi vs. fantasy)? Are there any particular kinds of sci-fi that leave an impact on you?

Also, I have a couple other lists (horror and ANOTHER 100 sci-fi books plus 1), but as I've already posted three lists just today, I don't want to overwhelm you all, and I know that some of the subject matter doesn't necessarily appeal to everyone. Please let me know if you would want to see the other lists - I'm eager to know if it's worth it.

Here's that second list I was referring to.

David Pringle was the editor of Xanadu's Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels, published in 1985, and this list for Grafton Books was his own follow-up. As it seems, according to the introduction, it was his intent to make a balanced list of notable works, so some of his choices weren't to his particular taste, though he acknowledged that they may be others' favorites; he also spoke of the arbitrariness of such a list, how "there are not a hundred masterpieces of modern fantasy, any more than there a hundred masterpieces of science fiction."

It should also be noted that, much like the last list (as you may have realized), this is an English language selection, which is rather a disservice to some of the great foreign fantasies of the world; also, it only covers the post-WWII years. This book is also out of print (save in digital format) butcan still be found reasonable cheap on the Amazon marketplace, so check it out if you want to. You'll also find that many titles are shared between lists - perhaps that's a sign of being rather special (just my opinion).


1.   Titus Groan (1946) by Mervyn Peake
2.   The Book of Ptath (1947) by A. E. van Vogt
3.   The Well of the Unicorn (1948) by Fletcher Pratt
4.   Darker Than You Think (1948) by Jack Williamson
5.   Seven Days in New Crete, or Watch the North Wind Rise (1949) by Robert Graves
6.   Silverlock (1949) by John Myers Myers
7.   The Castle of Iron (1950) by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
8.   Conan the Conqueror (1950) by Robert E. Howard
9.   The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) by C. S. Lewis
10.   Gormenghast (1950) by Mervyn Peake
11.   The Dying Earth (1950) by Jack Vance
12.   The Sound of His Horn (1952) by Sarban
13.   Conjure Wife (1953) by Fritz Leiber
14.   The Sinful Ones (1953) by Fritz Leiber
15.   The Broken Sword (1954) by Poul Anderson
16.   The Lord of the Rings (1954-55) by J. R. R. Tolkien
17.   Pincher Martin (1956) by William Golding
18.   The Shrinking Man (1956) by Richard Matheson
19.   Dandelion Wine (1957) by Ray Bradbury
20.   The Once and Future King (1958) by T. H. White
21.   The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (1959) by Robert A. Heinlein
22.   The Haunting of Hill House (1959) by Shirley Jackson
23.   Titus Alone (1959) by Mervyn Peake
24.   A Fine and Private Place (1960) by Peter S. Beagle
25.   Three Hearts and Three Lions (1961) by Poul Anderson
26.   The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything (1962) by John D. MacDonald
27.   Glory Road (1963) by Robert A. Heinlein
28.   Witch World (1963) by Andre Norton
29.   The Magus (1965) by John Fowles
30.   Stormbringer (1965) by Michael Moorcock
31.   The Crying of Lot 49 (1966) by Thomas Pynchon
32.   Day of the Minotaur (1966) by Thomas Burnett Swann
33.   The Eyes of the Overworld (1966) by Jack Vance
34.   The Owl Service (1967) by Alan Garner
35.   Rosemary's Baby (1967) by Ira Levin
36.   The Third Policeman (1967) by Flann O'Brien
37.   Gog (1967) by Andrew Sinclair
38.   The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle
39.   A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) by Ursula K. Le Guin
40.   The Swords of Lankhmar (1968) by Fritz Leiber
41.   Black Easter (1968) and The Day After Judgment (1971) by James Blish
42.   The Green Man (1969) by Kingsley Amis
43.   The Phoenix and the Mirror (1969) by Avram Davidson
44.   A Feast Unknown (1969) by Philip José Farmer
45.   Fourth Mansions (1969) by R. A. Lafferty
46.   Red Moon and Black Mountain (1970) by Joy Chant
47.   Time and Again (1970) by Jack Finney
48.   Grendel (1971) by John Gardner
49.   Briefing for a Descent into Hell (1971) by Doris Lessing
50.   Jack of Shadows (1971) by Roger Zelazny
51.   Watership Down (1972) by Richard Adams
52.   The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman (1972) by Angela Carter
53.   Sweet Dreams (1973) by Michael Frayn
54.   The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (1974) by Patricia A. McKillip
55.   'Salem's Lot (1975) by Stephen King
56.   The Great Victorian Collection (1975) by Brian Moore
57.   Grimus (1975) by Salman Rushdie
58.   Peace (1975) by Gene Wolfe
59.   The Malacia Tapestry (1976) by Brian Aldiss
60.   The Dragon and the George (1976) by Gordon R. Dickson
61.   Hotel de Dream (1976) by Emma Tennant
62.   The Passion of New Eve (1977) by Angela Carter
63.   The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Volume 1: Lord Foul's Bane (1977) by Stephen R. Donaldson
64.   The Shining (1977) by Stephen King
65.   Fata Morgana (1977) by William Kotzwinkle
66.   Our Lady of Darkness (1977) by Fritz Leiber
67.   Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen (1978) by Michael Moorcock
68.   The Unlimited Dream Company (1979) by J. G. Ballard
69.   Sorcerer's Son (1979) by Phyllis Eisenstein
70.   The Land of Laughs (1980) by Jonathan Carroll
71.   The Vampire Tapestry (1980) by Suzy McKee Charnas
72.   A Storm of Wings (1980) by M. John Harrison
73.   White Light (1980) by Rudy Rucker
74.   Ariosto (1980) by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
75.   Cities of the Red Night (1981) by William S. Burroughs
76.   Little, Big (1981) by John Crowley
77.   Lanark (1981) by Alasdair Gray
78.   The War Hound and the World's Pain (1981) by Michael Moorcock
79.   Nifft the Lean (1982) by Michael Shea
80.   Winter's Tale (1983) by Mark Helprin
81.   Soul Eater (1983) by K. W. Jeter
82.   Tea with the Black Dragon (1983) by R. A. MacAvoy
83.   Cold Heaven (1983) by Brian Moore
84.   The Anubis Gates (1983) by Tim Powers
85.   Who Made Stevie Crye? (1984) by Michael Bishop
86.   The Digging Leviathan (1984) by James P. Blaylock
87.   Nights at the Circus (1984) by Angela Carter
88.   The Businessman: A Tale of Terror (1984) by Thomas M. Disch
89.   Mythago Wood (1984) by Robert Holdstock
90.   The Glamour (1984) by Christopher Priest
91.   The Witches of Eastwick (1984) by John Updike
92.   Hawksmoor (1985) by Peter Ackroyd
93.   The Dream Years (1985) by Lisa Goldstein
94.   The Fionavar Tapestry (1985-87) by Guy Gavriel Kay
95.   The Bridge (1986) by Iain Banks
96.   The Hungry Moon (1986) by Ramsey Campbell
97.   Replay (1986) by Ken Grimwood
98.   The Unconquered Country (1986) by Geoff Ryman
99.   The Day of Creation (1987) by J. G. Ballard
100.   Aegypt, or The Solitudes (1987) by John Crowley


So how about that list? Which one do you prefer? Do you think this is a comprehensive guide to postwar English fantasy, or do you think there are some that are left out?

Here's something I wanted to share. I've said before that I make and record various lists, so here's one of them.

From what I can gather (going from just the Wiki article), back in the late 80's, London publishing company Xanadu commissioned a short series of "100 Best" books compiling chronologically the most outstanding works in a specific genre, at least according to the editors. It began with science fiction, followed by crime/mystery, horror, and fantasy. This particular list was going to be composed by noted speculative fiction author Michael Moorcock, but as it became apparent that he would be taking more time with the list than anticipated, he and the publishers agreed to turn the project over to James Cawthorn. The resulting book is now out of print but can currently be found for reasonable prices on Amazon; the list itself is discussed more in the text entry by entry, but as I don't have a copy of it at this time, all I have are the names, thus I am unsure as to why certain choices are made. Still, it would be fun to discuss.


1.   Gulliver's Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift
2.   The Castle of Otranto (1765) by Horace Walpole
3.   Vathek (1786) by William Beckford
4.   The Monk (1796) by Matthew Gregory Lewis
5.   Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley
6.   Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) by Charles Robert Maturin
7.   The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) by Edgar Allan Poe
8.   A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens
9.   Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Brontë
10.   Moby-Dick (1851) by Herman Melville
11.   Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh (1864) by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
12.   Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll
13.   Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884) by Edwin A. Abbott
14.   She: A History of Adventure (1886) by H. Rider Haggard
15.   The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson
16.   The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales (1888) by Richard Garnett
17.   The Story of the Glittering Plain (1891) by William Morris
18.   The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) by Oscar Wilde
19.   Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker
20.   The Turn of the Screw (1898) by Henry James
21.   The Man Who Was Thursday (1908) by G. K. Chesterton
22.   The House on the Borderland (1908) by William Hope Hodgson
23.   Black Magic (1909) by Marjorie Bowen
24.   Zuleika Dobson (1911) by Max Beerbohm
25.   A Princess of Mars (1911) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
26.   Tarzan of the Apes (1912) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
27.   The Lost World (1912) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
28.   The Night Land (1912) by William Hope Hodgson
29.   Herland (1915) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
30.   The Citadel of Fear (1918) by Francis Stevens
31.   A Voyage to Arcturus (1920) by David Lindsay
32.   The Worm Ouroboros (1922) by E. R. Eddison
33.   The Haunted Woman (1922) by David Lindsay
34.   Lady into Fox (1922) and A Man in the Zoo (1924) by David Garnett
35.   The King of Elfland's Daughter (1924) by Lord Dunsany
36.   The Ship of Ishtar (1926) by A. Merritt
37.   The Trial (1925) and The Castle (1926) by Franz Kafka
38.   Witch Wood (1927) by John Buchan
39.   War in Heaven (1930) by Charles Williams
40.   Turnabout (1931) by Thorne Smith
41.   The Night Life of the Gods (1931) by Thorne Smith
42.   Dwellers in the Mirage (1932) by A. Merritt
43.   Zothique (1932-51) by Clark Ashton Smith
44.   The Werewolf of Paris (1933) by Guy Endore
45.   Lost Horizon (1933) by James Hilton
46.   Northwest Smith (1933-40) by C. L. Moore
47.   Jirel of Joiry (1934-9) by C. L. Moore
48.   The Circus of Dr. Lao (1935) by Charles G. Finney
49.   Land Under England (1935) by Joseph O'Neill
50.   Conan the Conqueror (1935-36) by Robert E. Howard
51.   At the Mountains of Madness (1936) by H. P. Lovecraft
52.   To Walk the Night (1937) by William Sloane
53.   Roads (1938) by Seabury Quinn
54.   The Once and Future King (1939-77) by T. H. White
55.   Slaves of Sleep (1939) by L. Ron Hubbard
56.   Caravan for China (1939) by Frank S. Stuart
57.   Fear (1940) by L. Ron Hubbard
58.   Darker Than You Think (1940) by Jack Williamson
59.   The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (1941) by H. P. Lovecraft
60.   Land of Unreason (1941) by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
61.   Conjure Wife (1943) by Fritz Leiber
62.   The Book of Ptath (1943) by A. E. van Vogt
63.   The Dark World and Valley of the Flame (1946) by Henry Kuttner
64.   Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950), and Titus Alone (1959) by Mervyn Peake
65.   The Exploits of Engelbrecht (1946) by Maurice Richardson
66.   Mistress Masham's Repose (1946) by T. H. White
67.   Adept's Gambit (1947) by Fritz Leiber
68.   The Well of the Unicorn (1948) by Fletcher Pratt
69.   You're All Alone (1950) by Fritz Leiber
70.   The Dying Earth (1950) by Jack Vance
71.   The Devil in Velvet (1951) by John Dickson Carr
72.   The Tritonian Ring (1951) by L. Sprague de Camp
73.   Three Hearts and Three Lions (1953) by Poul Anderson
74.   The Sword of Rhiannon (1953) by Leigh Brackett
75.   The Broken Sword (1954) by Poul Anderson
76.   The Lord of the Rings (1954-5) by J. R. R. Tolkien
77.   The Golden Strangers (1956) by Henry Treece
78.   The Great Captains (1956) by Henry Treece
79.   The Haunting of Hill House (1959) by Shirley Jackson
80.   Stormbringer (1963) by Michael Moorcock
81.   The Serpent (1963), Atlan (1965), The City (1966), and Some Summer Lands (1977) by Jane Gaskell
82.   The Crystal World (1964) by J. G. Ballard
83.   Black Easter (1967) and The Day After Judgment (1968) by James Blish
84.   Rosemary's Baby (1967) by Ira Levin
85.   A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) by Ursula K. Le Guin
86.   The Green Man (1969) by Kingsley Amis
87.   Neither the Sea Nor the Sand (1969) by Gordon Honeycombe
88.   The Philosopher's Stone (1969) by Colin Wilson
89.   The Pastel City (1971) by M. John Harrison
90.   The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr. Hoffman (1972) by Angela Carter
91.   Red Shift (1973) by Alan Garner
92.   The Compleat Enchanter (1975) by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
93.   The Alteration (1976) by Kingsley Amis
94.   Our Lady of Darkness (1976) by Fritz Leiber
95.   The Drawing of the Dark (1979) by Tim Powers
96.   The Sending (1980) by Geoffrey Household
97.   The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic (1983) by Terry Pratchett
98.   The Businessman: A Tale of Terror (1984) by Thomas M. Disch
99.   Hawksmoor (1985) by Peter Ackroyd
100.   Expecting Someone Taller (1987) by Tom Holt


So what do you think? How many of these books have you heard of? How many have you read? Are there any that you've wanted to get to? What would constitute a fantasy novel in your opinion?

Keep a look out for a follow-up list coming soon.